


unreality_strikes_back.exe

by tinybox



Series: unreality_strikes_back.exe [29]
Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Breaking the Fourth Wall, Childhood Friends, False Memories, Secret Crush, Social Anxiety, Video Game Mechanics, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23233903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinybox/pseuds/tinybox
Summary: Changes are made, and scripts are added. Does anyone actually have free will in this game?
Series: unreality_strikes_back.exe [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619047
Kudos: 11





	1. Welcome to the Literature Club!

**TEAM SALVADO**

***This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.**

***This mod was created by people who are, in no shape or form, connected to TEAM SALVADO.**

**Doki Doki Literature Club!**

**unreality_strikes_back.exe**

***Important Message: Please Read!**

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**This mode is currently in its demo phase, and there may be some issues/bugs that need to be addressed. Please notify us in the comments below if you spot any problems with the game.**

**Also, you should probably play the original version first as to not be spoiled.**

**Please note that this demo stops after the main character either rejects Sayori or confesses his love to her. You can still continue playing, but everything afterwards will just be the regular game.**

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***Important Message: Please Read!**

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***New Game**

**Your name is Kaito. You cannot change it.**

***OKAY...?**

I see Sayori running towards me from the distance, waving her arms in the air like she's totally oblivious to the attention she might draw to herself. 

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Wait up, Kaito!"

Sayori's been my best friend and neighbor since we were children. She's the kind of friend that I probably wouldn't make today, given our differences, but our friendship works because we've known each other for so long. 

We used to walk to school together on days like this, but starting around high school she would oversleep more and more frequently, and I would get tired of waiting up. 

Taking pity on her, I stop at the crosswalk and wait for Sayori to catch up. 

"Haaaahhh...haaahhh...I overslept again!" Sayori pants, skidding to a halt next to me. "But I caught you this time!"

"Maybe, but that's only because I decided to stop and wait for you," I tease.

"Ehehehe..." Sayori giggles. "You're saying that like you were thinking about ignoring me! That's mean, Kaito!"

I playfully flick Sayori on the forehead. "No one could ever ignore you, Sayori."

"Kaito, quit doing that!" Sayori laughs, swatting my hand aside. "You did wait for me, after all. I guess that means you don't have it in you to be mean, even if you want to."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever you say, Sayori..."

"Ehehehe..."

We cross the street together and make our way to school; as we draw near, the streets become increasingly speckled with other students making their daily commute.

"By the way, Kaito...have you decided on a club to join yet?" Sayori asks. 

"A club? I told you already, I'm not really interested joining any clubs. Too much social interaction," I say with a shudder. "Besides, I haven't been looking, either."

"Eh?" Sayori gasps. "You told me you would join a club this year!"

I rack my memory, trying to recall when I made said promise to Sayori. To be honest, I can't remember ever promising something like this, but I must have just agreed while distracted doing something else during our many conversations.

Sayori likes to worry a little too much about me, when I'm perfectly content just getting by on the average while spending my time on games and anime.

Some people are born to do great and important things, and I'm not one of them. So why bother?

"Did I really say I would join a club?"

Sayori vigorously nods. "Uh-huh! I was talking about how I'm worried that you won't learn how to socialize or have any skills before college. Your happiness is really important to me, you know? And I know you're happy now, but I'd die at the thought of you becoming a NEET in a few years because you're not used to the real world! You trust me, right?"

Sayori lets out a deep sigh. "Don't make me keep worrying about you..."

"Alright, alright...I'll look at a few clubs if it makes you happy. No promises, though."

"Will you at least promise me to try a little?"

"Yeah, I guess I'll promise you that."

"Yaaay!" Sayori cheers, giving me a fist-bump. 

_Why can I never say no to Sayori...?_

_I guess seeing her worry about me makes me want to ease her mind a little bit- even if she does have a habit of exaggerating things in her head._

***Save**

Usually when school ends for the day, I'm excited. Today, however, I'm anxious. I spent the last few class periods dreading the thought of joining a club. I hate introducing myself to other people, and I'm terrible at remembering names.

Why did I let Sayori talk me into this? She knows I hate meeting new people!

I guess my best bet is starting with the Anime Club; there will probably be a few faces that I might recognize...

"Hellooo!"

I startle, nearly tipping back in my chair. "Gah!"

It's Sayori. Man, I must have really been spacing out if hadn't noticed her come in- Sayori's not very good at being quiet. 

When I look around the room, I discover that everyone in the class has already left for the day. 

Huh.

Sayori giggles. "I thought I would wait for you outside of class, but I saw you spacing out, so I came in! Honestly, Kaito, you're worse than I am, sometimes!

Getting up, I playfully shove her shoulder. "Impossible," I say with a grin, "no one's as flighty as you are!"

"Teehee, if you say so, Kaito!"

Picking up my backpack, I swing it over my shoulders. "Anyway, you didn't have to wait for me if it meant you being late for class."

To my surprise, Sayori flushes a little. "Well," she begins, "I thought you might need some encouragement, so I thought, you know..." She looks away for a moment, tapping her forefingers together.

I see where this is going, and I don't like it. Sayori only sounds this unsure when she's trying to get me to do something. Still, I decide to give her the benefit of the doubt. Feigning ignorance, I ask, "Know what?"

"Well, that you could join my club!"

There we go.

"Sayori, there's no way I'm joining your club."

"Ehhhhh?" Sayori gasps. "Don't be such a meanie!" 

Sayori's vice president of the Literature Club, which is weird, since I've never heard her express any interest in literature. To be honest, I'm 99% certain she only did it because she thought it would be nice to start a new club. Sayori's always been interested in trying new things, but she usually doesn't stick with it for long. 

The longest fad that Sayori got into was knitting. She even got me roped into the whole thing, and we made each other matching scarves. Still...knitting scarves with Sayori isn't anything like joining a Literature Club. 

"Actually, I was considering joining the Anime Club," I say, doing my best to avoid looking at her pleading expression. 

"C'mon," Sayori begs, "please?"

Man, she really wants me to join the club...there's definitely some kind of ulterior motive going on here.

"Why do you care so much? I thought you'd be happy if I joined any club."

"Well," Sayori begins, looking a little sheepish, "I kind of told the club yesterday that I would bring in a new member...and Natsuki made cupcakes and everything...Ehehehe..."

"Sayori...don't make promises you can't keep!" I chide, trying to find a way out of this situation. But Sayori's already played my like a fiddle- she knows I have a weakness for desserts.

Clearly, my sweet tooth will one day be my downfall. I'm not sure if Sayori planned this all along, but I'm pretty sure she did. Sayori may come off as an airhead, but she can be incredibly devious when she puts her mind to it. I can only hope she won't use her powers for evil. 

I let out a long sigh. "Fine...I'll stop by for a cupcake, alright? This doesn't mean I'm going to join."

Sayori perks up, eyes sparkling with joy, a wide smile stretching across her face. "Yay!"

What have I done? 

...I think I may have sold my soul, all for a single cupcake.

Curses.

I dejectedly follow Sayori across the school and upstairs- a section of the school I rarely visit, seeing it's generally used for third-year classes and activities. Sayori, as full of energy as always, flings the door open, pulling me inside. 

"Everyone, the new member is here!" Sayori loudly calls out. 

"Please don't call me that," I mutter in Sayori's ear.

As expected, she ignores me, continuing with, "This is Kaito!"

I glance around the room; to my horror, there are three pairs of eyes staring at me. Even worse, they're all really pretty girls. 

I'm _terrible_ at interacting with pretty people. I just know I'm going to say something stupid. 

"Welcome to the Literature Club, Kaito," says a girl with long purple hair and a gentle voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Sayori's always saying nice things about you.

Oh god, Sayori's been talking about me with them. Knowing Sayori, she probably described a version of me that's way better than I actually am in reality. 

The second girl- who has pink hair that's shorter on the front, but with a ponytail on the side- does not look impressed. "Seriously?! You brought a boy? Way to kill the atmosphere."

_Oh god, I haven't been here two minutes and already someone hates me._

Then, a familiar voice. "Ah, Kaito! What a nice surprise! Welcome to the club!"

_Oh no, they're waiting for a response!_

_How do I even talk to pretty people that I don't know?_

_Am I staring too much?_

"What are you looking at?" the girl with pink hair snaps, confirming my fears. "If you want to say something, say it."

"S-sorry," I mumble, probably sounding like a complete idiot. 

"Natsuki..." the girl with purple hair says disapprovingly.

"Hmmph." Natsuki crosses her arms, looking away in annoyance. I don't recognize Natsuki, but, from her small stature, I assume she's a first-year.

_Didn't Sayori say she was the one who made cupcakes?_

_...I really hope I haven't made a bad enough impression that she won't let me have one._

Sayori pats me on the arm, before whispering into my ear, "Don't worry, Kaito, you can ignore Natsuki when she gets moody." She then turns back to the other girls. "Anyway, that's Natsuki! She's always full of energy!" She then gestures to the taller girl with purple hair. "And this is Yuri, the smartest one in the club!"

Yuri flushing bright red, looks down at the her hands in embarrassment. "Sayori, d-don't say stuff like that."

"It's nice meeting you guys," I tell them.

"And it sounds like you already know Monika, right?" Sayori says to me. 

I shrug.

"That's right," Monika says cheerfully. "It's great to see you again, Kaito."

She smiles sweetly at me.

We do sort of know each other- well, we rarely talked, but we were in the same class year. She was probably the most popular girl in our class. Monica is smart, beautiful, and athletic- completely out of my league, so having her smile at me genuinely feels a little...

"Y-you too," I stammer.

With a cheerful smile, Sayori says, "Come sit down, Kaito! We made room at the table, so you can sit next to me and Monica."

The girls have already placed several desks to form a table. As Sayori mentioned, the space has been widened enough that I can sit next to Sayori and Monica.

Brightening up, Sayori excitedly adds, "I'll get the cupcakes!"

"Hey!" Natsuki snaps, "I'm the one who made them, I'll get them."

Sayori giggles. "Sorry, Natsuki, I guess I got a little too excited."

Natsuki and Yuri walk over to the corner of the room; Natsuki grabs a covered tray, while Yuri opens the closet.

Still feeling awkward, I take a seat next to Sayori.

Natsuki proudly marches back to the table, tray in hand. "Okay, are you ready...Ta da!"

Sayori gasps in amazement. "Ooohhh..."

Whipping off the foil, Natsuki had revealed a dozen white, fluffy cupcakes decorated to look like cats. The whiskers were drawn with icing, and bits of chocolate chips make up the ears. They look and smell amazing.

"Soooo cuuuute!" Sayori gushes.

"I had no idea you were good at baking," Monika compliments.

Natsuki, flushing a little, says proudly, "Eheh...you know. Just hurry up and take one!"

Sayori grabs the first, Monica the second, and I take the third. As always, Sayori practically shoves the entire cupcake in her mouth. Swallowing, she says excitedly, "It's delicious!"

Somehow, she's managed to get icing all over her face.

Natsuki is quiet, and I can't help but notice her taking glances in my direction. Is she waiting for me to take a bite?

I take a bite. The cupcake is sweet, but not cloying, the icing full of flavor. Did she make the icing herself?

"It's really good, thank you Natsuki!"

Natsuki flushes, crossing her arms and looking away. "W-why are you thanking me? It's not like I made them for you or anything..." She trails off, clearly embarrassed.

I almost want to tease her about the fact that Sayori already told me that she had made the cupcakes for me, but I don't think we're close enough friends yet for me to do that.

So, instead I ask, "Did you make the icing yourself?"

"Of course I did! What kind of person do you take me for, anyway?!"

Even though she sounds annoyed, she's still a little flushed.

"I tried baking a cake for Sayori's birthday once," I admit. "But I messed up, big time. Instead of adding sugar...I added salt. Then I burned the icing."

"I still ate all of it, though!" Sayori giggles.

"You really didn't have to do that, you know. I know it was terrible."

Natsuki snickers. "Wow, what kind of dummy burns icing?"

I point to myself, and say it my silliest voice, "This guy!"

Everyone else laughs, myself included.

Yuri returns to the table, carrying a tea set. She carefully places a teacup down in front of each one of us, before setting the teapot next to the cupcake tray.

"You keep a whole tea set in the classroom?" I ask. 

"Don't worry, the teachers gave us permission. After all, doesn't a cup of hot tea help you enjoy a good book?"

"Ah...I-I guess..." I stammer, trying not to sound like an idiot.

Monica smiles sweetly at me. "Ehehehe...don't get intimidated, Kaito, Yuri's just trying to impress you."

"T-that's not..." Yuri turns away. Quietly, she mumbles, "I-I mean that, you know..."

"Drinking tea while reading may not be something I've ever done before," I admit, "but I do like tea."

"I'm glad," Yuri says, smiling faintly in relief.

Monika raises an eyebrow at me, before smiling. "So, what made you consider the Literature Club?"

Crap. I was afraid they'd ask that...

_Don't say you were dragged in by Sayori, don't say you were dragged in by Sayori..._

"Well, I haven't joined any other club, and Sayori seemed to really like this club..." I trail off,not sure what to say next. 

"Don't worry!" Monika says sweetly, "We'll try and make you feel at home here, okay? As president of the Literature Club, it's my duty to make the club fun and exciting for everyone!"

Curiously, I ask, "Hey, Monika? Not to be rude, what made you want to create your own club in the first place? You could probably be a board member for any major clubs. Actually, weren't you a leader of the Debate Club last year?"

"To be honest, I can't stand all the politics around the major clubs," Monika admits. "It feels like nothing but arguing about budget and publicity and how to prepare for events...I'd much rather take something I personalty enjoy and make something special out of it. And if it encourages others to get into literature, then I'm fulfilling my dream!"

"Monika is a really great leader!" Sayori praises, and Yuri nods in agreement.

"Then I'm surprised there aren't any more people is this club yet," I say. "It must be a lot of hard work creating a new club."

"You could put it that way," Monika says agreeably. "Not many people are interested in putting up the effort to start something brand new...especially when it's something that doesn't grab your attention, like literature. You have to work hard to convince people you're fun and worthwhile. But it makes school events, like the festival, much more important."

Monika grins at us all. "I'm confident that we can grow this club before we graduate! Right, everyone?"

"Yeah!" Sayori cries, eyes sparkling in excitement.

"We'll do our best," Yuri affirms.

"You know it!" Natsuki says, pumping her fist in the air. 

They're all so different, but they're still focused on the same goal...Monika must have worked really hard to find these three.

Maybe that's why they were excited about having a new member joining?

I really don't want to let them down. I don't know if I can keep up with their interest in literature- my relationship with books has always been...difficult- but I'm going to try my best! 

"So, Kaito, what kind of things do you like reading?" Yuri asks curiously.

Oh no. I probably should name some kind of book, but it's likely at least one of them will have read it. Guess I'll have to go with the truth. 

Looking down, I admit, "Um...well, this is kind of embarrassing, but I'm not much of a reader. Unless manga counts? I guess it's because I kind of have trouble reading large chunks of text...I guess that makes me kind of an idiot, huh?"

I try and play it off with a laugh, but I can tell my joke fell flat. 

Everyone's looking at me weirdly, and I consider bolting out the door, out the building, and then moving to another town with a completely different name. 

I've only been here for five minutes, and I already managed to make things awkward! 

This must be some sort of new record for me...

After what feels like an eternity, Natsuki bursts out, "Are you trying to imply that manga isn't literature?! Sheesh!" Crossing her arms, Natsuki huffs in annoyance. 

Natsuki's rudeness seems to break the tension a little. 

"Well," Yuri says quietly, "I'm not sure if manga qualifies as literature, but it's still reading. You shouldn't call yourself an idiot like that!" After that small outburst, Yuri flushes bright red. "Sorry," she whispers, "I didn't mean to..."

"Yuri!" Sayori gently says, patting Yuri on the arm, "You shouldn't be embarrassed about expressing yourself! You have opinions, and I love to hear them!" Turning to me, she continues with, "Kaito, you're not stupid at all! I think you're very smart!"

Finally, she turns to Natsuki. "Natuski, manga is literature if you want it to be! I admire how strong your passion is for manga, because it makes me want to find something I can feel just as passionately about!"

I can't help but laugh. "Sayori, you always have something nice to say, don't you?"

"And I'm always right!"

With that, the tension fully breaks.

"Well," Monika says in relief, "I'm glad we have everything resolved." I can't help but notice, however, a strange expression flicker in her face for a second.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Natsuki says, face flushing pink. "Can we get back to the important stuff?"

"Well, I suppose we could all talk about what kind of things we like to read," Monika says. 

Turning to Yuri, I ask, "Hey Yuri, what kind of books do you like reading?"

"Well, let's see..." Yuri says, tracing the rim of her teacup with her finger, "my favorites are usually novels that build deep and complex fantasy worlds. The creativity and craftsmanship behind them is absolutely amazing to me. And telling a story in such a foreign world is equally impressive."

Yuri goes on, clearly passionate about her reading; all the shyness she was showing before has completely vanished. She'd seemed so reserved and timid since the moment I walked in, but it's obvious by the way her eyes light up that she finds her comfort in the world of books, not people.

"But, you know, I like a lot of things," Yuri admits. "Stories with deep psychological elements usually immerse me as well. Isn't amazing how a writer can so deliberately take advantage over your own lack of imagination to completely throw you through a loop? Anyway, I've been reading a lot of horror lately..."

"Really?" Monika says, "I wouldn't have expected that, Yuri. For someone as gentle as you..."

"I guess you could say that. But if a story makes me think, or takes me to another world, then I really can't put it down. Surreal horror is often very successful at changing the way you look at the world, if only for a brief moment."

"Ugh," Natsuki scoffs. "I hate horror."

"Oh?" Yuri asks placidly, "Why's that?"

Despite her demure tone, I can sense she's a little irritated.

"Well, I guess..." Natsuki stops, eyes darting over to me for a second. "Never mind."

"That's right, you like to write about cute things, don't you, Natsuki?" Monika says, clearly trying to smooth things over.

It has the opposite effect on Natsuki- she blanches, face flushing. "W-what? What gives you that idea?"

"You left a piece of scrap paper behind last club meeting," Monika explains. "It looked like you were writing on a poem called-"

"Don't say it out loud!!" Natsuki snaps. "And give that back!"

When Monika holds out the piece of paper, Natsuki snatches it back so fast that I hear it tearing a little. She crumples it up quickly, shoving it into her bag. 

"Eheheh..." Sayori giggles, "your cupcakes, your poems...everything you do is as cute as you are!" 

Sayori slides up behind Natsuki and puts her hands on her shoulders.

"I'm not cute!" Natsuki snaps, shaking Sayori off. 

"Natsuki, you write your own poems?" I ask.

"Eh? Why do you care?"

"I think that's impressive." I continue. "Why don't you share them sometime?"

"No way!" Natsuki snaps. Looking away, she mutters, "You...wouldn't...like them..."

"Ah, not a very confident writer yet?" I say sympathetically.

Surprisingly, Yuri speaks up. "I understand how Natsuki feels. Sharing that level of writing takes more than just confidence. You must be willing to open up to your readers, exposing your vulnerabilities and showing even the deepest reaches of your heart."

Monika eyes Yuri curiously. "Do you have writing experience, too, Yuri? Maybe if you share some of your work, you can set an example and help Natsuki feel comfortable enough to share hers."

Now it's Yuri's turn to look embarrassed. Saying nothing, her expression is one of someone wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

Sounds like Yuri feels the same way.

Honestly, I don't blame either one of them.

"Aw," Sayori says, "I really wanted to read everyone's poems..."

We all sit in silence for a moment.

Then, me and Monika start talking at the very same time.

"What if-"

"Okay-"

We both stop. "You go ahead, Kaito."

"No, you go ahead."

"Well, I was going to say that I have an idea, everyone! Let's all go home and write poems of our own! Then, next time we meet, we'll all share them with each other. That way, everyone is even!"

"Um..um.."Natsuki stutters.

Yuri says nothing.

"Sounds great!" Sayori says cheerily.

"Actually," I admit, "that was kind of my idea. Except my plan was to write a poem and share it with you guys, therefore making you feel better about your own superior writing skills. But it would be kind of nice to not be in the spotlight, and I can't really back down because I just said this all out loud, so..."

Luckily, Monika saves me. "I think with that, we can officially end today's meeting on a good note. Everyone, remember tonight's assignment. Write a poem to bring to the next meeting so we can all share!!!" Monika looks over at me once more. "I can't wait to hear you express yourself, Kaito. Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll do great."

"Thanks, Monika."

It's unlikely that I'll be able to impress anyone with my mediocre writing skills, but...if it helps the others, I'll do my best.

Doesn't mean I'm any less nervous, though.

As I sit in dread, the girls continue to chat as Natsuki and Yuri clean up the food. 

"Hey, Kaito? Since we're already here, do you want to walk home together?"

That's right- Sayori and I never walk home together anymore because she's always stayed after school for clubs. 

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

"Yay!"

With that, Sayori and I depart the clubroom and make our way home. The whole way back, my mind wanders between the four girls, whether or not I'll be happy in a Literature Club, and whether or not I...

Well! I'll just need to make the most of my circumstances, and I'm sure good fortune will find me.

Probably.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Anyway, I guess that starts with me writing a poem tonight...how hard can it be?

***Save**

Alright, I've got a fresh piece of paper, a recently sharpened pencil, and some vaguely inspirational music to listen to.

Time to start writing. Any second now, inspiration is going to appear in my mind like some kind of...who am I kidding, this is never going to work.

Why did I think I could pull this off? My imagination is terrible, I have nothing original to say, and my handwriting is awful. But I _have_ to write something- I promised to!

I really shouldn't have made that promise. 

"Okay," I say to myself, "you just have to think what the others might like. Natsuki likes...cute stuff, and Yuri likes...deep stuff. No idea what Monika likes."

But I already know who I want to write this poem for. The only problem is, I have no clue what Sayori likes to read. But I do know Sayori, so...I might as well try my best. I'll probably add some stuff that I know the other two will like, just in case my attempt flops. 

I'll probably end up disappointing Monika, though.

Since I have no clue what to write, I figure I might as well pull up one of those random word generators online, and go from there. Let's see...how many words do I want?

Does it matter?

I'll go with ten. That seems like a good enough number. 

**vacation**

**dark**

**milk**

**fester**

**flower**

**insight**

**peace**

**promise**

**wrath**

**aura**

Okay, I've got some words. Now what?

Honestly, I know nothing about poetry. I _do_ remember having to read some of those really long poems in English class, but I'd never paid any real attention to them. Probably should have, in hindsight. 

...

The internet will probably have some answers. 

I type into the search bar, **"What is poetry?"**

Boom.

Alright, according to the dictionary, poetry is:

**_literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature._ **

That's not too helpful. Maybe I should ask a different question. 

So, I type into the search bar, **"How to write poetry"**

Let's see...oh no, there's like a twelve step process in each of the online articles. 

...

Maybe I should go with the flow, and see where I end up. 

***Save**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7/2/2020  
> Made some changes to some of the chapters, and rearranged them a bit.


	2. We're Best Friends (And This is the Friend Dance)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poetry is shared, and Sayori shows everyone how effective she is at being Vice President.

***Load**

"Hi again, Kaito!" Monica says cheerfully. 

Aside from her and Sayori, no one else is here. 

I slump down in the nearest desk, and try to think about what I'm going to do next. I guess I could read the book Yuri gave me yesterday...but I'm too tired to read. I stayed up really late last night trying to write something good, and now my head kind of aches. 

I could probably fall asleep right now. 

I close my eyes, and listen in on Sayori's conversation with Monika.

"We're probably going to seem really lame compared to all the other clubs, though," Sayori says worriedly.

"Hmm..." Monika hums, clearly deep in thought. "Well, we can't give up. The festival is out chance to show everyone what literature is all about! The problem is the idea of a literature club is that the idea of a literature club sounds to dense and intellectual...But it's not like that at all, you know? We just need a way of showing it to everyone...something that speaks to their creative minds."

"Hmmmm....that doesn't solve the problem, though!"

"Eh? What do you mean?" Monika asks, clearly surprised. 

"Even if we come up with the most fun thing ever...Nobody will come in the first place if it's a literature event. So it's more important to get people to show up, you know? And after they come, we can do the thing to speak their creative minds."

Sayori is taking this really seriously. I should help out, too, even if I sound stupid.

I sit up a little bit straighter, opening my eyes. "This might be a dumb idea, but what if we had baked goods or something?"

Sayori bounces in place. "Cupcakes! We could have cupcakes! Everyone loves cupcakes!"

"Ahaha, good thinking, you two. You guys make a good team. Anyway, I bet Natsuki would love to do that."

Sayori's grin grows even wider. "Ah! You're right! Natsuki makes the best cupcakes! This works out perfectly!"

"That wasn't why you suggested it?" Monika asks curiously.

I snicker. 

"Cupcakes speak to my creative tummy," Sayori says seriously.

"...Cupcakes it is, then."

"I'm hungry..." Sayori says pitifully. "Kaito, do you still have those fruit bars that your mom usually gives you?"

"I thought you hate those things."

"Yeah, but I'm desperate for snacks."

"You're lucky that I hate them, too." 

I toss a bar to Sayori. After unwrapping the shiny foil, she scarfs the snack down in less than a minute.

"Anyway," Monika continues, "we still need to work out the details of the event itself..."

I find myself smiling. 

In the end, Sayori is still her usual self. 

...That's one of the reasons I admire her. Unlike me, who has trouble finding any motivation at all...Sayori can put her mind to things and make them come to life.

I suppose that's why I let end up letting her get on my case about things.

I can't help but wonder what it must be like to see the world through her eyes...

I slump down a little bit more, listening as Sayori and Monika continue their conversation.

My eyes feel heavy.

Maybe I can rest them for a little bit...

...

I open my eyes to see Sayori's face filling my vision.

"Uwaa-!" I gasp, nearly falling out of my chair.

"Ehehe, sorry," Sayori giggles, taking a couple steps back. Then she frowns slightly. "Wait! Actually, I'm not sorry at all!"

"You're not?"

Sayori huffs. "It's your fault for sleeping like that! This isn't the napping club!"

"Does our school have a napping club?"

Right now, that seems like a pretty good idea.

If I wasn't so lazy, I probably would create one.

"You're staying up late again, aren't you?" Sayori asks worriedly. "Now that you're in a club, you're gonna have less time for anime and manga, you know!"

"I thought you told Natsuki that manga _was_ literature," I tease. 

Sayori huffs. "You know what I mean!"

"Yeah," I admit. "I know, I know. You're always looking out for me, Sayori. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Ehehe," Sayori giggles, "it's what I do best!"

"I don't know, you're pretty good at knitting. I still have that scarf you made me last year, you know."

(I technically made one for her, but Sayori did most of the work.)

Sayori flushes. "Aw, you kept it?"

"Of course I did. But, back to my earlier point, you spend so much time worrying about me...that sometimes I think you forget about yourself. You're still oversleeping again, aren't you? Tell you what, tomorrow I'll be there with a bucket of water, so you better get up on time!"

Sayori giggles. "You don't have to do that! Besides, I don't sleep in every day!"

"...You don't sound too convincing. How many days have you gotten up on time?"

Sayori looks away. "That's...It's a secret!"

Getting up, I boop her on the nose. "I knew it..."

Her face flushes. "C'monnnn! At least give me the benefit of the doubt!"

I look at her straight in the eyes, and say in my most deadpan voice, "I can't even do that." 

I can't keep the serious expression on my face for too long; the way Sayori pouts is just so adorable. "Look, Sayori, it's written all over you."

"...Eh?" 

Sayori glances around herself with a small frown. "How is it written all over me?"

"You were clearly in a rush this morning," I say, using my best detective voice. "Look, your hair is sticking out all around here."

Sayori flushes. "Ah-"

"This is why I carry a hairbrush around with me, you know." Pulling out said hairbrush from my bag, I hand it to her. She begins running it down her hair, wincing when she hits a knot. 

"Ouch!"

"Here, let me do it."

She passes the brush over to me, turning around so that I can brush the back of her hair.

"Man, your hair is really tangled this morning," I say, smoothing out a particularly stubborn knot. "Alright, this is good enough."

"Thanks!" 

Turning back to face me, Sayori pouts. "My hair's just really hard to get right..."

"I won't fall for that," I tease, putting the brush back in my bag. "There's more than just your hair. Look, your bow isn't straight, either. And there's a toothpaste stain on your collar right here."

I try to wipe the stain off with my finger.

"B-but nobody would ever notice that..." Sayori protests.

I shake my head. "Of course they would. Nobody's going to tell you about it because they don't want to embarrass you. Luckily, you have me!"

"Hey, you meanie..."

"And you don't even keep your blazer buttoned up...but that's normal for you. Here, let me help out. But just this once, alright?"

I start buttoning her blazer from the bottom. "You'll thank me later when this ends up getting you a boyfriend."

Sayori giggles. "Ehehe...this is kind of funny."

"What is?"

"I was just thinking about how weird it is to have a friend who does these kind of things."

I can feel my own face begin to flush. "Eh?"

"I like it," Sayori tells me, her smile soft. "I'm happy we're like this. Aren't you?"

"I-I guess," I mumble. 

_Sayori and I have never really talked about stuff like this before. It's kind of strange...but not in a terrible way._

"Hey, be careful, the button might come off!"

I struggle to close the button near her chest. "I guess I'll leave that one alone. Seriously, though, does this even fit?"

Sayori giggles nervously. "Ehehe...it was when I bought it."

I let out a deep sigh. "If you ever buttoned it, you would have noticed sooner that it doesn't fit you anymore."

Sayori smiles. 

"Wait, what are you smiling about?"

"It means my boobs got bigger again!"

"D-don't say that out loud!"

Sayori just giggles.

"Anyway, you look way better now," I tell her, taking a step back. 

...

Why does it feel strange to see Sayori's blazer buttoned up like that?

Sayori groans. "But it's so stuffy...it's not worth it at all!"

With that, Sayori hastily unbuttons her blazer once more. "Phew! That's so much better!"

Sayori puts her arms out and twirls around. "So, if I keep it unbuttoned then I won't get a boyfriend, right?"

I raise my eyebrows. "What kind of logic is that? And why are you saying it like it's a good thing?"

"Because...if I had a boyfriend, he wouldn't let you do things like this! And you take care of me better than anyone else would, anyway...So that's why I'm keeping it unbuttoned!"

"Stop saying these embarrassing things!"

"Eh? I didn't say anything embarrassing..."

I look down at my shoes. "I guess I'm not too good with this sort of thing. Um...anyway, you really should focus on trying to wake up a little earlier. I'm not joking about the whole water bucket thing, you know."

"Only if you focus on getting to bed earlier!" Sayori teases. 

"Fine, fine. It's a deal."

Sayori giggles. "I guess we really are better at taking care of each other than we are of ourselves."

"Okay, everyone!" Monika suddenly announces.

I turn around, and see that Natsuki and Yuri are now here. 

Huh.

"Why don't we share the poems we wrote now?"

Sayori bounces a little in excitement. "Yay! Kaito, I can't wait to read yours!"

"Yeah, same..."

I fail to sound enthused, but Sayori still trots off to retrieve her poem. 

"By the way," Monika asks me, "did you remember to write a poem last night?"

"Y-yeah," I say nervously.

My relaxation ends; I can't believe I agreed to do something this embarrassing. It was hard coming up with inspiration, seeing as I've never done this before. Even after reading some guides on the internet, it was still really difficult to put my pencil to the paper and start writing. 

"Well," Monika says cheerfully, "now that everyone's ready, why don't you find someone to share with?"

"I can't wait!" Sayori says excitedly.

Both Sayori and Monika enthusiastically pull out their poems; Sayori's poem is on a wrinkled sheet of loose leaf torn from a spiral notebook, Monika's poem, on the other hand, is written in a composition book.

I can already see Monika's pristine handwriting from where I sit.

Natsuki and Yuri reluctantly comply as well, reaching into their bags.

I do the same, myself.

**Who should I show my poem to first?**

***Sayori**

***Natsuki**

***Yuri**

***Monika**

Sayori, of course. I'm definitely most comfortable sharing it with her first. She my best friend, after all. 

...

My only friend, to be honest.

I hand my poem to Sayori, and she takes several minutes scanning through it.

Sayori's always been a quick reader, so her spending so much time on it concerns me.

"Sayori?"

"...Oh my goodness! This is sooooooo good!" Sayori excitedly squeals. 

"Eh?"

"I love it! I had no idea you were such a good writer!"

I feel my face flush. "Sayori, are you just saying this because you're my friend? Because I'm not a good writer at all. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing. I had to look up how to write poems last night, and that didn't even help."

"Well..." Sayori starts, "maybe that's why! Because I have no idea what I like, either!"

She giggles.

"Jeez...I suppose we'll have to muddle through this together."

Still, I'm sure Yuri's opinion will be more constructive than this.

Maybe even Natsuki's. 

"Are you sure you don't like it just because I wrote it?"

"Eh? Well, I'm sure that's part of it. I think I understand you better than a lot of people, you know? So when I read your poem, it's not just a poem. It's a Kaito poem! And that makes it feel extra special! Like I can feel your feelings in it!"

Sayori hugs the sheet to her chest.

I ruffle her hair. "You're so weird, Sayori."

"Ehehe...I'm really happy just that you wrote one. It just reminds me how you're really a part of the club now."

Besides the fact that I'm standing in front of her right now?

"Er...well...of course. I'm not really into it yet, but I that doesn't mean I'll break my promise."

"See? It's like I said before, Kaito...deep down you're not selfish at all, you know? Trying new things for other people...that's something only really good people do!"

"Thanks, Sayori."

"I'm gonna make sure you have a lot of fun, here, okay? That will be my way of thanking you!"

"Alright," I say with a smile, "I'm going to hold you to that."

"Yay! Now, you'll read my poem too, right? Don't worry, I'm really bad at this. Ehehehe..."

"We'll see about that."

**_Sunshine_ **

_The way you glow through my blinds in the morning_   
_It makes me feel like you missed me._   
_Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed._   
_Making me rub the sleepy from my eyes._

_Are you asking me to come out and play?_   
_Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?_   
_I look above. The sky is blue._   
_It's a secret, but I trust you too._

_If it wasn't for you, I could sleep forever._   
_But I'm not mad._

_I want breakfast._

"Sayori, this is just a guess, but...did you wait until morning to write this?"

There's a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks. 

"No! J-just a little bit!"

I nudge her shoulder with mine. "You can't answer 'just a little bit' to a yes or no question."

"I forgot to do it last night," Sayori finally admits.

"Well, at least that makes me feel a little better about myself..."

"Don't be mean!" Sayori says, swatting me on the arm. "I still tried my best..."

"Ah, yeah. I didn't mean to say it's a bad poem. It came out nice...or, how should I put it...it sounds just like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Especially that last line."

"I made eggs and toast!"

"Even though you were late to school?"

"It's bad to skip breakfast! I get all cranky..."

I sigh. "Well, I guess there's no point in arguing. Well, do you think we should go trade poems with someone else?"

"Alright! This was fun. Monika's the best!"

"Ah...yeah."

"Next time," Sayori promises, "I won't forget! And I'll write the best poem ever!"

"Well, I guess I look forward to it."

**Who should I show my poem to next?**

***Natsuki**

***Yuri**

***Monika**

"...Well, it's about what I expected from someone like you," Natsuki says after reading my poem. 

_Ouch._

"T-that's a little blunt..."

Natsuki rolls her eyes. "Well, _excuse_ me. It's not like I said it was bad. It just didn't evoke any emotions."

"So basically, it's not cute enough for your tastes?" I tease. 

"You want to get smacked?!"

I nervously rub the back of my neck. "I'll pass..."

Natsuki looks away. "Well anyway, I guess I need to show you mine. Not that you'll like it."

**_Eagles can fly_ **

_Monkeys can climb_   
_Crickets can leap_   
_Horses can race_   
_Owls can seek_   
_Cheetahs can run_   
_Eagles can fly_   
_People can try_   
_But that's about it._

"Yeah, I told you that you wouldn't like it."

"I like it. The ending's cool, and it takes me by surprise. It starts off flowing, and then it takes me for a loop with the last line."

"What?"

_...Oh no, I messed up and made her mad._

"Just be honest!"

Actually, I think she doesn't look angry. She looks...nervous?

"Why are you so certain I won't like it?" 

"Because!" Natsuki snaps, crossing her arms over her chest, "Everyone in high school thinks that writing has to be all sophisticated and stuff...so people don't take my writing seriously."

"But isn't the point of poems to express themselves? Your writing style wouldn't make your message any less valid."

"Yes, exactly! It's easy to read, but it hits you hard. Like in this poem! Seeing people around you do great things can be really disheartening...so I decided to write about it. "

"I totally get that. When I see other really talented people doing amazing things, sometimes I don't even want to try. Especially when they're really younger than me." 

"Exactly! Anyway, the other great thing about simple writing is that it puts more weight on the wordplay. Like I set up for a rhyme at the end, but then I made it fall flat on purpose. It helps bring out the feeling in the last line."

"So you did...I guess more went into it than I realized."

Natsuki beams at me. "That's why I'm such a pro! I'm glad you learned something. Didn't expect from the youngest one here, did you?"

"Yeah, I guess not."

I decide to humor her with that last comment. I don't really care how old she is, but if Natsuki is feeling proud, than I won't take it away from her.

**Who should I show my poem to next?**

***Yuri**

***Monika**

Yuri stares at the poem in silence. 

"Mm..." 

A minute passes, more than enough for her to read to finish reading. 

I shuffle my feet a little. "Um..."

Oh!" Yuri exclaims, sweating nervously. "S-sorry! I forgot to start speaking..."

"It's fine, don't force yourself. I always kind of worry whether I'm talking too much or not enough, and then I stress out because I feel like I've just said something dumb and made everything awkward or something. And then my hands starting sweating and suddenly I'm the guy with sweaty hands. Um. That was too much information, I'm sorry. I ramble when I get nervous."

Yuri smiles at me, her expression relieved. "I just need to put my thoughts into words. Hold on...okay." After a moment, Yuri asks, "This is your first time writing a poem, right?"

"Yeah...was it really that obvious?"

"I was just making sure," Yuri assures me. "I guessed it might be after reading it."

"...Is it that bad?"

"No!!" Yuri immediately flushes bright red. "Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice."

She then buries her face in her hands.

We haven't really gotten anywhere, but I also don't want to pressure Yuri into talking. 

Sayori and Natsuki were a little easier to talk with, mostly because they took the lead in the conversation. Yuri, though, seems to be a bit like me, if not a lot shyer.

When I get nervous, I ramble.

When Yuri gets nervous, she withdraws.

"Don't worry about it, I didn't even notice. Besides, I really do what to hear how you think I can improve my writing style."

"Right...um...it's just that there are writing habits that are usually typical of new writers. And having been through that myself, I kind of learned how to pick up on them. I think the most noticeable thing about new writers is that they try and make their style deliberate. In other words, they tend to pick a writing style separate from the topic matter, and they form fit the two together. The end result is that both the style and the expressiveness are weakened. "

I nod in agreement.

Yuri sounds a lot more confident then she was earlier; her stammering is completely gone, and she sounds like an expert.

"Of course, that's not something you can be blamed for. There are so many different skills and techniques that go into writing even a simple poem. It might take you some time, but it all comes with practice, learning by example, and trying new things."

"Thanks, Yuri. That's really helpful."

Yuri flushes. "I also hope everyone else can give you valuable feedback. Natsuki can be a little biased though..."

"Biased? How?"

"U-um...well...never mind...I shouldn't be talking about people like that...sorry."

"It's fine. Don't worry, I won't say anything."

I'm not sure if Yuri is apologizing to me, herself, or Natsuki, but I don't want to pry. 

So, instead I ask, "Would it be alright for me to read your poem?"

Yuri smiles at me. "Please do!"'

**_Ghost under the light_ **

_The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow._   
_Bathing._   
_It must be this one._   
_The last remaining streetlight to have withstood the test of time._   
_The last yet to be replaced by the sickening blue-green of the future._   
_I bathe. Calm; breathing air of the present but living in the past._   
_The light flickers._   
_I flicker back._

Yuri looks worriedly up at me. "I...I'm sorry I have such terrible handwriting!"

"Huh? You have great handwriting!"

"But it took you a long time to read..."

"I'm just a slow reader in general. This is kind of embarrassing, since I'm in a Literature Club and all, but reading has always been tricky for me. Also, I don't read script very often. I think your handwriting is really pretty!"

"Eh? That's...a relief. Not about the whole reading difficulty, of course. I just mean that I'm glad you didn't find it tricky to read."

"More importantly, though, I liked your poem. You've got a way with words."

"It wasn't too short? I usually write longer poems..."

"Not at all."

"I'm...really glad you like it. I'll be honest...since it's our first sharing, I wanted to write something a little bit more mild. Something easier to digest, I suppose."

"Are you into ghosts, Yuri?"

"Actually, the poem isn't about ghosts at all."

"R-really? Sorry about that, Yuri, I guess I really missed the point on that one."

"Well, I suppose you did only glance over it, after all...but remember that poets often express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in their work. They usually do more than tell a simple story, or paint a picture. In this case, perhaps the subject of the poem is only being symbolically compared to a ghost. Lingering in her last remaining comfort, unable to let go of her past. And soon to be left with nothing...that's a lot more solemn, putting it that way." 

"I didn't even think about it like that...but I really like the way you described it."

"It's nothing really," Yuri says modestly, "but...it makes me happy to hear that you like it. Just remember that it won't be long before you pick on these things, too."

"Maybe you're right. Although," I say with a grin, "I'm not sure I'll ever get my handwriting up to par with yours."

Yuri snorts, then looks embarrassed. "Sorry! I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry, everything's all _write_. You know, cause the word right sounds like write, and all."

Yuri giggles, hand covering her mouth as though she's trying not to show that she's smiling. 

_She has a lovely laugh._

"I think I get it."

***Monika**

Now it's time to share my piece with Monika. When she gets my work, she scans the paper thoughtfully, green eyes focused on every single ink stroke.

Have I made some kind of spelling error?

...I probably did.

Maybe I can claim that I'm taking poetic license or something?

Would that even work on her?

Oh no, she's finished reading it.

Monika smiles sweetly at me. "I like this one! It makes me think of something Sayori would like."

"Is that so?" I ask curiously. "I mean, I used to give her an ice cream sandwich to look over my essay assignments or the occasional class presentation, and sometimes she'd rewrite parts of it without me asking, so I guess I just...remembered her style? Maybe?"

Monika giggles. "So that explains why some of your speeches would occasionally go off-topic!"

"No, that was all me. Except anything involving cute animals or food. That was Sayori."

"You are Sayori are really good friends, huh? I wouldn't be surprised if you had those sort of things in common." 

"We've known each other our entire lives, practically, but I think we're very different."

"Hmm...well, that may be the case. But maybe there's also some similarities that you wouldn't expect. The way she talks about you...it sounds like you two really care about each other's well-being. Even if you show it in different ways, it ends up being more similar than you think. So I think that's what I got when reading your poem."

I don't why I tell her this, but I say to Monika, "We've known each other practically our entire lives, and she's always been there for me. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without her."

I stop short. "Um..I didn't mean to say that. It's kind of awkward...I don't know why I ever told you this...but, um...well..."

For a moment, it's like Monika freezes in place. But the motion happens so quickly, that I'm not even sure I even saw her do it.

Probably just my overanxious brain.

"In any case," Monika continues, saving the conversation, "Sayori's writing has kind of a gentle feel to it. I can tell she likes exploring with emotions, like happiness and sadness. Who knew someone so happy could enjoy sad things as well?"

"Yeah, that's...unexpected."

Something about what she just said is bothering me, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's because Sayori's poem didn't really feel happy or sad, just-

"Well, to each their own," Monika continues, breaking my train of thought. "And you shouldn't be afraid to experiment, either."

I can't remember what I was just thinking about.

Probably unimportant.

"I'm sure I'll end up trying different things a lot. It could take a while before I feel comfortable doing this."

"That's okay!" Monika says with a cheerful smile, "I'd love to see you try new things. That's the best way to find a style that suits you. Everyone might be a little biased toward their own kind of styles...but I'll always help you find what style suits you the most! So don't force yourself to write the way anyone else wants you to write. It's not like you have to worry about impressing them or anything."

"That's where you're wrong," I joke, "I feed on validation. I constantly worry about what people think of me."

Both of us giggle.

It's funny how easy it is to talk to Monika. 

"Anyway, do you want to read my poem now? Don't worry, I'm not very good."

"You sound pretty confident for someone who claims not to be any good."

Monika shrugs. "That's because I have to sound confident. That doesn't mean I always feel that way, you know?"

"...I see. Well, let's read it, then."

_**Hole in Wall** _

_It couldn't have been me._  
 _See, the direction the spackle protrudes._  
 _A noisy neighbor? An angry boyfriend? I'll never know. I wasn't home._  
 _I peer inside for a clue._  
 _No! I can't see. I reel, blind, like a film left out in the sun._  
 _But it's too late. My retinas._  
 _Already scorched with a permanent copy of the meaningless image._  
 _It's just a little hole. It wasn't too bright._  
 _It was too deep._  
 _Stretching forever into everything._  
 _A hole of infinite choices._  
 _I realize now, that I wasn't looking in._  
 _I was looking out._  
 _And he, on the other side, was looking in_.

"Hmm...it's very freeform...if that's what you call it. Sorry, I'm not the best person to talk about for feedback."

"Aha...it's okay. Yeah, that style has gotten pretty popular nowadays. That is, a lot of poems have been putting emphasis on the timing between words and lines. When performed out loud, it can be really powerful."

"What was the inspiration behind this one?"

"Ah...well, I'm not sure if I know how to put it. I guess you could say that I had some kind of epiphany lately. It's been influencing my poems a bit."

"An epiphany?"

"Yeah... something like that. I'm kind of nervous to talk about deep stuff like that, because it's kind of coming on strongly...maybe after everyone is better friends with each other. Anyway...here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Sometimes when you're writing a poem-or story-your brain gets too fixated on a specific point...if you try so hard to make it perfect, then you'll never make any progress. Just force to get something down on the paper, and tidy it up later!

Another way to think about it is this: If you keep your pen in the same spot for too long, you'll just get a big dark puddle of ink. So just move your hand and go with the flow!"

"...Thanks?"

"That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening!"

I guess that's everyone. 

Whew, it was a lot more stressful than I could have anticipated...but it was almost kind of fun as well. 

Maybe.

Is it worth all this stress?

Um...

I'll think about that later.

I glance across the room, where Sayori and Monika are happily chatting. Then, my eyes land on Yuri and Natsuki, gingerly exchanging their sheets of paper, sharing their respective poems.

As they read in tandem, I watch each of their expressions change.

Neither of them look particularly happy.

Natsuki's brows furrow in frustration. Meanwhile, Yuri smiles sadly. 

_This isn't good._

From across the room, I hear Natsuki mutter, "What's with this language...?" under her breath. 

"Eh? Um...did you say something?" Though polite, I can hear the steely edge underneath Yuri's tone.

_Oh no._

"Oh, it's nothing," Natsuki says, all faux casual. Dismissively, she returns the poem to the desk with one hand. "I guess you could say it's fancy."

"Ah-thanks..." Yuri stutters. "Yours is...cute." She's clearly grasping for straws, hoping not to offend Natsuki.

From Natsuki's outraged expression, it's clear that Yuri's attempt failed.

"Cute? Did you completely miss the symbolism or something? It's clearly about the feeling of giving up. How can that be cute?"

"I-I know that!" Yuri stammers, "I just meant...the language, I guess...I was trying to say something nice..."

Natsuki's scowl grows even deeper. "Eh? You mean you had to try that hard to come up with something nice to say? Thanks, but it didn't really come out nice at all!"

"Umm...well, I have a couple of suggestions..." Yuri begins.

Natsuki huffs.

_Oh no oh no oh no. Why did you have to say that, Yuri?_

"If I was looking for suggestions," Natsuki snips, "I would have asked someone who actually liked it. Which people _did,_ by the way. Sayori liked it. Kaito liked it too! So based on that, I'll gladly give you some suggestions of my own."

_Oh no she mentioned my name why did she have to mention me by name?_

_Why did you mention me by name Natsuki?_

"First off all-" Natsuki begins, before quickly getting cut off by Yuri.

"Excuse me..." Yuri says, "I appreciate the offer, but I've spent a long time establishing my writing style. I don't expect it to change anytime soon, unless I find something particular inspiring. Which I haven't yet."

_Oh **god** Yuri why did you say that?_

_Why isn't anyone stepping in?_

"Nngh!" 

Crossing her arms, Yuri says dismissively, "And Kaito liked my poem too, you know. He even told me he was impressed by it."

Natsuki suddenly stands up. "Oh? I didn't realize you were so invested in trying to impress our new member, Yuri," Natsuki snarks.

Yuri's face flushes bright pink. No longer cool and collected, Yuri stammers out, "That's not what I...you..you're just..."

Yuri stands up as well, pointing an accusatory finger in Natsuki's face. "Maybe you're just _jealous_ that Kaito appreciates my advice more than he appreciated yours!"

It doesn't look like either Sayori _or_ Monika have noticed what's going on.

_Please turn around please turn around please turn around..._

"Huh! And how do you know he didn't appreciate _my_ advice more?" Natsuki snaps back, hands clenching into fists. "Are you that full of yourself?"

"I..! No..." Yuri stares down at her hands for a moment, before whipping her head back up again. "If I was full of myself...I would deliberately go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!"

"Uuuuu...!" Natsuki growls, puffing herself upwards in order to stare Yuri directly in the eyes.

 _Finally,_ Sayori turns, notices the commotion, and hurries over to them both. "U-um...is everyone okay?"

"Well, you know what?!" Natsuki sneers, "At least I wasn't the one whose boobs magically grew a size bigger when Kaito started showing up!!"

"N-Natsuki!!" Yuri yelps.

_Don't look at her boobs don't look at her boobs don't look at her boobs..._

"Um, Natsuki," Monika begins, clearly taken aback, "that's a little-"

Both Yuri and Natsuki snap, "This doesn't involve you!"

Monika startles, taking a step back.

"I-I don't like fighting, guys..." Sayori whimpers.

Then, to my horror, both Natsuki and Yuri turn back to me, as if noticing me properly for the first time. 

_Oh **no**._

"Kaito...!" Yuri stammers, "She's just trying to make me look bad...!"

"That's not true! She started it! If she could just get over herself and learn to appreciate that _simple_ writing is more effective...then this wouldn't have happened in the first place! What's the point in making your poems all convoluted for no reason? The meaning should jump out at the reader, not force them to have to figure it out. Help me explain it to her, Kaito!" 

_Why is she asking me???????_

_I don't know **anything** about poetry!_

"W-wait!" Yuri cries, and for a blissful moment I think she's going to tell Natsuki something along the lines of, _"Kaito's a beginner, we shouldn't force him to choose!"_

Instead-

"There's a reason we have so many deep and expressive words in our language! It's the only way to convey complex feelings and meaning the most effectively. Avoiding them is not only unnecessarily limiting yourself...it's also a waste! You understand that, right, Kaito?"

_No! I don't understand! I don't understand anything at all!_

"Um.."

"Well??" The two of them snap at me.

"..."

_How did I get dragged into this in the first place?! My opinion literally means nothing here! I know nothing about writing, let alone poetry!_

**But whomever I agree with, they'll probably think more highly of me!**

**So of course that's going to be...**

***̸̜̺̦̑̒̓̈͂͂̆͂̃̆̈̍̚͝N̷̹͙̬̙̬̟͚̩̯͚͗̾͛̃̐̆͝a̸̧͕͙̠̠̥̯͕̲͙̙͌̾̀̽̔̑̈́̌̚̚͝ͅt̸̛͙̙̭̞͖̩͔̎̅͊͝ş̵̨̩̮̹̰̺̱̯͎͓̦̙̰͑̆̽͝ű̶͓̫̏͂͌̏̈́̅̒̎k̴̥̂͆͗͗į̵̟̦̭̙̪̤̱̲̬̱̞̬͖̇**

***̵̨̢͚̬̱̖͓͊Y̴̢̩̼͉͔̮͍̽̉͌̉̐̍̃͆̅͜ͅų̴̧͖̜̦͙͙̺͕͓͉̞̺̉̌̈́́͑̇̾̊̽̉̈͘̕͜ṙ̶̦̙͉̹̦͒͊̋̍͆̇͑̅̕͠i̷̛͖͓̋̂͌̈́̈́̐̕͘͝͝**

***Help me, Sayori!**

_What do I do????_

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

_I can't choose a side! Both of them have valid points!_

My vision blurs for a second, and for a brief moment, I feel sick to my stomach.

"N-Natsuki...Yuri..."

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

My head is spinning, and all my words are stuck in my throat.

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

"...Y-you guys, w-why...um...Sayori!"

"Eh?" Sayori gasps, clearly startled at being put in spotlight.

"Everyone's fighting is making Sayori uncomfortable!"

Because they are.

_Sayori hates conflict even more than I do._

Remembering this gives me the courage to stand tall. 

"How can the two of you keep fighting like this when you know you're making your friend feel like this?"

"...Well, that's her problem!" Natsuki says snootily. "This isn't about her."

"I-I agree," Yuri says coldly, "it's unfair for others to interject their feelings into our conflict."

"Yeah, unless Sayori wants to tell Yuri what a stuck-up jerk she's being."

"She would never...! It's your immaturity that's made her upset in the first place!"

" _Excuse_ me? Are you listening to yourself? This is exactly why...exactly why nobody likes-"

" _Stop!!_ " Sayori shouts.

Everyone falls silent; I think this is the first time any of them has ever heard her get this loud. 

"Natsuki! Yuri! You guys are my friends!" Sayori tells them earnestly. "I-I just want everyone to get along and be happy! My friends are wonderful people...and I love them because of their differences! Natsuki's poems...they're amazing because they give you so many feelings with just a few words! And Yuri's are so amazing because they paint beautiful pictures in your head!"

_This is who Sayori is._

Underneath all her layers, she's always been someone who understands people, knows how to look deep within and see things others miss.

"Everyone's so talented...so why are we fighting...?"

Both Natsuki and Yuri look unsure.

"Be-because..." Natsuki halfheartedly begins. 

"Well..."

The two of them fall silent.

"Also!" Sayori says, in a much more cheerful voice, "Natsuki's cute and there's nothing wrong with that! And Yuri's boobs are the same as they always were! Big and beautiful!!"

There's an awkward pause.

Sayori stands triumphantly.

Monica stands behind her with a bewildered expression. 

"I'll... make some tea..." Yuri says quickly, before rushing off.

Natsuki sits down with a blank expression on her face, staring at nothing.

I make my way over to Monika, and say quietly, "So this is why Sayori's Vice President..."

She nods in return.

"To be honest," Monika admits quietly, "I might come off as a good leader, and I can organize things...but I'm not very good with people."

Monika looks down at the floor, face flushing. "I couldn't even bring myself to interject. As President, that's kind of embarrassing of me."

Looking back up, she chuckles awkwardly. "Ahaha..."

"Are you kidding? You saw how I reacted. If anyone should be embarrassed, it's me."

"Well..." Monika begins, "I guess that means Sayori is amazing in her own ways, isn't she?"

"People tend to underestimate her, you know. They think she's some kind of airhead, and I won't deny she acts like one. But...she's a lot deeper and complex than most people give her credit for."

"I see. Take good care of her, okay? I would hate to see her get hurt."

"That makes two of us...but don't worry, you can count on me."

Monika smiles sweetly at me, causing my stomach to knot. Such a generous person really does make a good president, regardless of what she says.

I̴̟̬͋͗̈́̑̀͝f̵̛̲͙͙̗̟̮̝͖͚̣͗̈́̊̒̇̂̐̕ ̴̣̺̪̞͉̹̣̭̮́ͅͅo̵̢̝̖͉̘̤̫͈͕̭̣̞̺̪͗̓́̾̔̇̐̕ñ̷̮͓͇̪̭̖̱͎̭̪̿͆͗̈l̴̢͇̩̗͕̯͕̭̪̫̳̖̭̺̈́̓̌͑̉̏y̴̠̼͋ ̷̱͙͚̦͕̠͇͙̝̒̆͋͐̀̈̕̕͝͝ͅI̷̡̡̳͓̮̖͕̲͍͇̣̞̭͒̆̓̔ ̷̡̯͔̞̮̅́̐c̶̨̧̝͍̠̺̪̜͉͌̅̊̈̅̄̽̀͜͝͠o̸̡̜̻̹͌̂̔͌̿̿̑̈́̉̚̚̚ư̴̩̪̖̣̝̭͎̹̼̖̼͈͖̱̘̔̂̽͂͊̾̒̅̽͂͝͝ĺ̵̨̠̟̳̳̻̲̯̞͜͝ḑ̸͕̰̟͚͈̖̲̱̬̳̙̣͛́̄̃̏͂͊̈́́͒ͅ ̵̛͓̙͓̯͍̯̖̯̘̓͌g̶̡̰̣̜̯͂͌̆͛̈̊̏͒̽̌͜e̵͔͇̗͍̬̩̞͔̗͑̾͌̍͛̔͗͒̿̏͗̐͊͘͝t̴̨̜̰̫̗͛̈̽̕͠͝ ̵͇͓͉̘̰͙̋̄͑̍̿̅̃͗̈́̽̈́͝͠͝͝a̵̮̹̖̳͙̬̮͇̰̱͆̄͝͝ ̴̧̲̦̻̤̮̦͊̿́̐̋͛̀̒͘c̶͙̼͋͗͋̈́̃̕ḩ̴̡̦̳̠̯͍̋̓̓̆̏͐̓̍͗̏͘͝ͅǎ̸̭̒̐̏͑͑̓͑͒̊̈̔͊̈n̷̡̧̼̬͖̔̿͐̾̂͐͆͗c̶̠̗̜̱̻̔͗͑̽̔͂̓̉̋̈́̍̅͝ȩ̶̫͙̙̝̰̫̙̮̘̇̔͒̃̓ ̶̨̹̼̖̬̲̖̪̞̗͈͂̈́̔͝͠t̴̡̡̞̦͇̩͉̪̳͚͎̦̞͑̽͛̉͆͑̈̅̔͆̚̕͝͝ö̵̠͉̞͐͑̇͌̈͋̎̿̈́̈́͌̚͝ ̶̞͎͖͛̏̒̉͂̔̊̎̃̚͜ͅţ̴̛̄͂̆̿̋̀̉ą̶̨̛̙͉͓̪̥̙̭̭͕̜̈́̍͑͊͑͛̿̆̍̕͜͝͝ͅl̵͍̱̖̙͓̗̑̌͌̄̑̓̊k̷̙̥̖͎̆̾̆́̉̈́̓̂͒̃̊ ̵̨̧̥̪͚͓͍͚̰̘̻̩̮̾̇t̶̛̮̳͊̀̌͐͒̾̍̐̆̍̈͗͠ơ̵̰̫̓̓͆́̿̃̈͗̄͘͝͝ ̷̢͖̟͉̾̈́̉͗͗̈́̏̌͘̕̕͜͠h̵̳̓͐ĕ̶̛̦͙͎̪̻̿̄͐̀́͆͑́̐͝r̴̼͙̆̂̒͊̓̒ ̴͔̩̹̙̬̯̹̂̇̔̑̐̍̃̍̆͋̈́̃͝m̴̢̛̤̏̽͊͆͐͗͛͂͋͛̕͠͠o̴̘͔͔̬̽͑̄͘r̶̬͙͖͎̙͕̯͔͗̌̏̈́̀é̵̫̹͉͑̅̆͂͐̒̃͛̕.̶̣̼̥͊͐̔̾͑̽̓͗̄̓̅̏͝͝.̸̢̩̮͚̠̞̣̮̦̤͆̐͋̈́͐̂̾͛̒ͅ.̴̨̛̟͈̻̯̊̾

_I just wish my head would stop aching..._

"Okay, everyone!" Monika announces, "It's just about time for us to leave. How did you all feel about sharing poems?"

"It was a lot of fun!" Sayori says with a smile. 

"Well," Yuri eventually says, "I'd say it's worth it."

Natsuki huffs. "It was alright. Well, mostly."

Then, Monika turns to me. "Kaito, how about you?"

"...Yeah, I'd say the same. It was a neat thing to talk about with everyone."

"Awesome! In that case, we'll do the same thing tomorrow. And maybe you've learned something from your friends, too. So your poems will turn out even better!"

Well, I did learn a little more about everyone's preferred style of poetry...that might be helpful in the future.

.

W̷̹̣̲̯̄̂̈́i̸̡̺̖̣̲̎̽͊̂̄̾̋͝ẗ̷͕̪̽͌̊͌̒̌̈́͊̈́̚̕͠͝h̸̼̊̑͒̅̏̌͒̃̏ ̵͈͙̟̱͖̪͐̀̉̕̕͘͜ă̸̩̳̳͇͕̼̲̒̇̿̾͆̿̆͑̒͗̕͝ņ̵̢̲̩̠̻̪̩̲̰̄̇̈́̆y̸̛̱̜̲̣̙͉͒̈̎̀͊̇̈́̍̍͑̕͠͝ͅ ̶̬̩͙̣̘̩̙̖̝̤̲͖̥̓̓̎̄̀͜l̷̤̻̠̱̾̌̓̒̋̆̐͜u̴̢̧̬̩̝̤͖̥̞̭̥̩͓̣̬͗͊̊̋̅͘c̸̛̙̅̄͐̃́̑͆̓̏̆̅͘͠k̷̛̻͌͐̋̿̽̑͆̓̚̕̕͝,̵͚͉͚͖̟̯̼̭̺͈͛̋̽͂̔̑̍͑̓̑͠ ̴͖̭̽̄͌̃͑t̴̛̬̫̿͑̓̅͗͘h̸̢͕͔̪͈̮̳̅̒̌̋̆͆̎͊̐̒͘͘͝a̷͇̳̟̤̳̠̖̍̽͌̐̃̓̈́̅͂͝t̴̟̍ ̸̢̭͚̳̼͚̬͉̿̈́̅͗͌͋͊͒̊̉͒͒͘m̷̛̟̺̈̇̒̔̈́̇̄͗e̷̡̙̪̜͇̞̭͖̱̻͉̝̰͊̃͑̋̈́͝a̴̧̝̟͊̎͂̈́͜n̶̩̗̝͉͗̿̀͠s̸̯̜̱̬̰̖̠̒͆̃̑̎̅̋͑̓̆͒̏͠ ̷̢̬͉̮̝̥͍̦̰̘̝͗̿͑͂̈͑͠ͅͅI̸̧̡͈̼͚̦̫̺͈̩͈̽̓̾͋͜ ̸̪̲̖͓͕̙̭̺̂̀̏̋̃̓̄̔̑̏̆͒c̶̢̢͎͚̗̩̩͕̰̼̽̕͜a̶̯͈͍̭͔͚̺̹̳̭̟̝̬͋̇͛̋̇̾̑̆́̏̈́͑̃̏ṅ̸̤̹̯͖̠̱̣̭͙͙̱̥͍̭̎̏̄͝͠ ̶̝̣̮̖̮͎̕a̴̬̘̳̱̩͗̌͌̈́̽͊̅̒̿̎̕͝t̸̨̛̰͈͓̙͌̒̅͌̃̅̚̚͝͝ ̵̦͈͓̪̪͍̜̬͚̈́ļ̸̞͙͎͖̫̖̤͖̤̩̭̐̈́̆̋̆̈́̏̽́͘͝ͅe̴̞̣̟͓̭͇̰̅̇̓̏̒͂̌̔̏̒̽ͅå̵̩̇͗̑s̵̨̨̭͎̲̘̈́͑̋̀̿̂̑̅͊t̵̢̨̡̞͕̱͙͚̻͍͚̭̑͑̈́͗͂̔͂̌̒͗̚ ̷̤̬̌̅͊̕d̴̢̧̛͚̬͚̲̜̼͚͎͍͚̊̈̕o̴̻͇̲͉͍̫̮͈̤͉̖̹̓̓̕̚͜͜ ̶̢̯̜̯̗͚̙̻͓̍̃̃̈́͑́̕͝͝a̷̬̙̯̿ ̷͓̭̼̇͒̿̋̃̆̒͐͋̋͂̕͝͠b̷̧̡͙̮̠̜̟̠̲̖̘̬̮̋̍̈́͌̿̂̃̄̎̕̚ê̶̛͖̜͙̣̱̾̍͌͛̅̅̈́̌͐͘ť̸̗͔̫̿̐̍̌͋t̸̗͈̠̄̎̈́̉̃̐ȇ̶̢̨̡̨͕̻̲̫̠̪͍̐̃̊̎̌͑̋̕͜͝ŗ̴̡̛̪̙̭̜͙̞̳͉͉̗͆̄͒̈̑̚͝͝ ̷̧̰̫͊̌͠j̴̛̠͖̙̼̯̝̬̙̺̳̺̇͋͗̈́̒͐̐̏͆ͅo̶̝̖̹̲̜̿͑̈́b̴̩͖̓͛͋̾̉̑̃͘ ̵͕̥̯̭̣̦̱͊̀͗͌̌̅̿̀̓̏̚͠a̷̠̰̔͗̉͋́͐͊̕͝͠t̴̡̢͕̻̞̖͚̙̞̭̼̽͜ ̸̨̭̥͎͉̜̩͙̝̈́͆̆͛̅͒̋͗̒͋͘͘̚i̵̙̜̥͔̞̳̜̙̘̟͛̐̿̓͋̆̊̃͘͜m̵̪͍̮̘̮̻̙͙͓̰͖̋͑̏͛̃̐̈́̆̚͝͠p̴̡̛̥̫̞͙̥͈̞͓̩̜̣͇̦̏́͗̅̒̒̾͂̿́̄̊͠ͅr̸̺̤̿́ę̵̢͓̪̜̇͊̓s̶̨̢̹̪̝̫̹̥̞͚̱̊͋̐̈́͗̉̈̓͌̓͘͝s̷̘̉i̵̢̗͍͇̮̤̇́̈́́̈́̃̓n̸̨̪̰͇̩͖̲̙̾ġ̷̦̲̯̝̬͒̏̈̉̓͂̆̅͘ͅ ̷̲͔̗͚̜͈̗͊͊̓͒̔̈͌͂̃͝͠͝t̴̩̲́̿͑h̸͔͉̿̅̊̉̈́̓͒̑̕͝o̴̧̧̻̼̤̳̼̖̳̠̓̂͗̌̑͊̄̊̚͜͜͝ͅs̴͉̺̟͈̲͕̓͂͛̈́̍̏́͛͒͗̌̐͐̽ḙ̷̙͙̳̌̿̂̾̈̉́̄̽̃̿̿̓̀̕ͅ ̸̡̧̡̦̙͇̗̺̀̿͝I̵̛̮̘̫̪̱̲̣͙͂̍̍̄̂̍́̓̀̒̕͝ ̷̩͚̹̳̺͎͔̐͠ẅ̸̢͖͚̫͍̫̒̌͑̂̏̐̽ą̸͚̯̹̝̗̙̟͉̍͒̇̒̿̾͋ͅņ̷͈̭̖̳̟̘̰͈̻̹͕̘̰̀̑̊̃͐̈́̿̈̒̓̆͊̀͘̕t̵͙̟̮̟̗͕̟̅͒̔̉̿͌ ̷̛͔̻̤̹̹̠̬̜̉͒̋̎̂͌͌̒̂͘͝͝t̶͎̟̩̻̮̝͙̲͕̩͔͋͆͊̅̏̂̍̈́̾̌̊͝o̸̰͑͗̈͆͝ͅͅ ̸͚̰̞͔̟͍̝̟̬͔̰̣̈́̒̈́̍̏̆́̀̈̈̚̚̚͜͠ͅi̷̢̡͎̭̳̞̗̪͕̗̩̍̒͜͝ͅm̷̨̛͚͈̠̫̖̝̰͔̟̋̾̓̊̇͌͗̾̋̒̋p̷̘͌̈́̑̾̊̅́̿̄̍͊̈͊͠ṟ̵͓̮̟̹̖̪̜̃̈́̐̉̐͋͐̈́̄̿̋͊́͠e̷̡̙̹͊̈́̒̋̎̚s̵̺̲͍̺̗͖͎̪͛̇̃͊͜s̶̢̲̖̺̺͆̂͂̑̊͝.̵̨̢̨̣͚̼̞̜̹̜͎̔̾̀͂͋̓̃

"Kaito, ready to walk home?"

"Sure, just let me grab my bag."

Sayori giggles, beaming at me. 

It truly has been a while since Sayori and I have spent this much time together. 

...I've missed her.

On the way home, I can't help but mention, "Sayori...about what happened earlier..."

Sayori looks surprised. "Eh? What do you mean?"

"You know, between Yuri and Natsuki. Does that kind of thing happen often?"

"No, no, no!" Sayori says hurriedly. "That's really the first time I've seen them fight like that...I promise they're both wonderful people."

She then looks worriedly at me. "You don't...you don't hate them, do you??"

"No, I don't hate them!! I just wanted your opinion, that's all. I can see why they'd make good friends with you. Not to get all mushy, but you have a way of bringing people together."

Sayori blushes a little. "Phew. You know, Kaito, it's nice that I get to spend time with you in the club. But I think seeing you getting along with everyone makes me the happiest. And I think everyone likes you, too!"

I can feel my face flush. "That's-"

"Ehehe," Sayori giggles. "Every day is going to be so much fun!"

I let an over-dramatic sigh, linking my arm with her's. "If you say so."

"Don't be such a constant downer!" Sayori laughs, swatting at me with her free hand.

I̸̢̛̖̘̹̞̫̥͎̥͇̞͕̳͛̄͆͒̒͋̀͘͠͝ţ̷̙͎̔̎̏͑͆̓͆̀̒̃͌͘̚͘ ̵̯͇̦̫͙̥͚̫̳̮̲̺͇͒̒͒̌̈́̋̀̕l̴̨̨͙̞̘̖̱̙͙̻̺̝͙͖̱̽̈͐̉̅ŏ̷̝̤̫̹̬͛ó̵̯̥̎͛̇̊́̏̒̅̉̎̚͘k̴̢̘̯̲̰͕̳̺̣̖̙̱̃̐̔̂̌̈̾̑͛͛͝͠s̴̖̈́̅̔̆̀̊̑́̃̎̈́̒͝ ̷̝̰͇͚̰̘̥͔̬͓͚̫̇͋͋̾́̃̐̈͐̍̈́̚͜ͅl̵̲̝̟̤͓͎̣̮̘̺̹̼͆̎i̸̛̝͕̐͒͑̇̀̂͂̚ǩ̸̛̻̾̒̈́̐̐̾͂͛̒̿̚ẹ̸̓͛̑̈́̏̓̒̽͗̕ ̶̨̧̛͙͔̙̙̯̬̱̻̘͔̂̈́̅̌̀̇̽̉̀͒͐̔̉S̶̨̨̘̤͇̫̘̱̰̳̈́̓̊͂̾̈́͆͒̿͗͠͝ą̶͖̠̼̻̠̟͎̞̌͒́̍̈́̉̈́͌̉͋̔̚ỷ̵̜͍̪̝̓̈́̿͗͒̐̅͊͐̀͜ơ̵͚̻̹͕̯̭̈́̐͋̑̽̀̂͘͝r̴̢̛̺̻̻̖̘͔̠̟̱̋̽̌̆̆͒͊̉́͊̕ǐ̶̛̪͕͇̝̟͚̣̩̱͖͋̊́͗͊̐ ̶̨̡̞̠̠̲̲̮̰͚̱̘͈̿̈́̆͛͘͝s̸̼͓͉̥̼̰͇̳̰̟̠̤̑͆̏̿͆͑͆͋̎̅̚͘͜t̵̢̡̬͙̭͖̘̱͚̳̝̮͕̍̉̒̈͛̔̾̇͑̿͊͜į̶̦͇̩̠̝̯̖̥͙̱̩̰̓̑̿̓̑̉̒̚l̴̗̬̟̟̠̺͇͂͘l̵̢̘̣̱̼̯̲̦͗̎ ̴̧͉̺̦̊̅̓̎͂̓̒́͊̓h̶̡̨̗͇̞͎͍̙͈̹̖͔̺̼͐͌͊̏͊̂̈̽͘̚͝͠a̸̱͈͓͖̣̱͖̙͉̥̖̫̟̚͘͠s̷̡̡͇̤̼͔̰̰̜̪̘̖̲̒̆͜n̵̞̭̳̙͉̅̎͋͗̐̃̽͛̈̚͘͘͜͝'̸͉͇̀͛̆t̵̙̟̜͆̔͛̅̅͑͛̌̇ ̸̨͇͍̲̻̯̦͈̈́̑̈́̎͊̑͝͝͠ç̶̡̳̙͇̳̩͙̣̖̱͉̞͎̊͂͋͌̂̕͘à̶̗̯̩͉͕̯̞̳̤̦̖̫̓̏̈́̊́̋̚͘͜ų̷̬͙̮̥͍̦̥̹̹̤̱͓̞͋̈́͆͌̊̀̉̚͘͝͠ͅģ̶̡̡̬̦̻͖̱͓͖̬̹͍̗̊̽̎̊̾h̸̬̐̈́͐͑̋̄̋̀͒̇͌̍̋͠͠t̶̨̢͎̥̤͙̮̪͇̫̗̽̂͊̒̍̊̓̏͗̃̒̂̋̚ ̴̛̛͎̞̳̰̞̦̗̳͓̪̘̻͛̐̒̉̉̓̋̍̈͝͝ơ̶̢̧̪̍̔n̵̡͔̹̦̼̻̦̻̯̥̥͈̈́̐̉̊̈̐̚ẗ̴̹͓̩͔̬̀o̴̘̘̖̻̤̹͔̰͆̈́̅͛͂̄ ̴̼̘̫̗̻͎͂̅̔̄̌͘͝ț̶̡̢͓̪̰͓̉̎̀̋͒̎̔̊̀̈́ͅh̶̡̛͈̳̘͋͆͆̀̄̿͠ȩ̵̨̫͎͔̂̑̀̋̈́̔̃̊͠͝ͅ ̴̘̼̘̩̘̹̗̮̽͒͘͜s̸̲̟̰̳͛̽̃͆̚i̷̛̻̞̟̬̹͕̥͍̭̰̓͛̾̄͐͠t̷̢̼̣̭͉̮̥̰̦̖̼̗̤͍̭͛̓u̴̢̝̲͍̺͚̳̮̦͖̽̂̓̊̇̈̇̍͂͝ą̶̪̞͈̝̟̭̺̯̙̱̘̬̈̎͂͛̈̚t̷̝̜̮̰̹͚̳̱͇̻͔̯̟̊́̽͋͘ḯ̵̻̖̎̓͋͌̍͑̇́̊̈̅̎ŏ̵̺͉͖̟̼͔̩͍̐͋̈́̾n̴̢̥͌̆̆̽͗̒̏͊̇̒̑̽͊̒ ̷̨̺͓͇̰͍̽͋̃͊̓͂̏͘I̵̧̛̛̛̩̝͖̞̒́̈́̈́̋͛'̸͉̫͕͈̮̽̎̂̎̔̉͑͛̀͊̆͗͝m̵̛̬̮͚͙͔̣͌̌͒̿͐͂̋͑͘͠͝ͅͅ ̵̨̢̛̛̹͚̓̇̄͋̾̎̒̔̑̊́͐͠i̴̬̯̲̳̘̬͊́̑̄̒̇͌̾̈̕ͅn̸̡̡͈̬̖͉̱̩̠̬̲͐̓̌̈́̅̈́̐̑̿̆͒̿̚.̴̡̡̧̯̭̭̘͚̫̼͎̐͋̽͂̈́̅̆͐͊̈̇͋̚  
̶̨̝͐̄̊́̈́̈̀̑̓Ŝ̸̺͌́͌̅̕ͅư̴̢̢̻̬̤͉̜̳̜̠̳̼̯͐̊̈̋ͅȓ̷̡̜̦̗͖͓̦̲̫̹̬̣̺̲̾̈́̌͋̉͑͆̓̋̎̕ͅe̷͕̦̦̣̐̈́̂,̴̨̖̠̲̣͚̞̫̪̖͈̥͉̀̿ ̶̙̂̐̽͂b̷̨̢̡̝̮̝͈̹̞̖̤̙̒͋̊̅ͅͅė̴͈̹̦̼̪̹̫̗̪̅̌̌͂̊̇͒͆͆͠i̴̡̧̨̯̹̱͚̜̱̗̗̰͇̫̓̎̍̎̎͐̚ͅņ̸̯̘̗̮̣̳̻͂̍̽̋͂̉͊̐̓̚̚g̷̨̡͇͔͇̠̩͍̙͙̼̀̑͒͌̋̉̕͜͠͝ ̴̛̛̪̼̯͎͈̖͈̪̙̠̆͋͊͌̂͝͝ͅf̶̪͎̽̕ͅr̷̖̙̤̞̱͑̄̊̍͠į̴̧̲̤͙̯̯̖͈͂̊̑̐͆̊̓̽̄̽̔̇̋͛͝ė̸̹̤̳̖̱̻̺̹̯̤̓̓̈́̂ͅn̷̨̨̻̩̆̏̈́͋͂̽̓̍̉d̸̨̛̝͎͛͌͌̌͑̽s̵̛̱̜̪̙̘͕͖͗͒̂͂̎́̌̈́̃̈́͝͠ ̷̨̨̯̪̲̝̼̩͓̠̲̇̏͑̚w̵̛͕͔͇͎̲͓̠̯̮̲̬̫̫̿̅̃͜ͅĭ̸̢͓̯̻͖͇͔͇̜̤̪̹͆̑̉͂͗̾̒̓̚͜͠ͅt̸̨̢̛͖͙͓̤̖̖̙͈̣̪̮͔̄͌̿̒̏̅̂͗̓̑̈́̊̚h̸̢̧̞̮̣̖̤̺͍́̌ ̷̜̿͋̿̍͝ḛ̷̙̗͈̰͋͐̈̂̚v̷̡̛̱̪̰͈̹̫͍̪͍̝̜̆͐̏̉͘͝ḛ̴̬̠̯͎̰̏͆͒̽̒̈́̂̎͆͌̓͘͝͠͠ŗ̷̼̜̳͎̹̗̼̠̪̥̭̺̽ͅy̴̩̹̩͈͕͂̔͂͛́o̵̟̓̿́̈́͌͑͐͠͠n̵̘̾͂̒͒͊̿̕e̸͙̬̹̥̾͋̈́͗̄̑͗̏̑͋͌̏͌ͅͅ ̴͔͒̅̋͑̓̊̈́͜í̵͇̐̈̀̃͊̅̓̚š̸̹̱̪̔͋͛̽ ̷̫͎̯͓̮̱̒̑̓̈̈͝͠ṅ̶̦͚̻̯͖̦͙̘̝̖͑̐̂͒̏̈́̒̆̕͝͝î̶̧̟̜̺̳̞͇̫̙c̵̛̝͉͖̞̲̙̾͐͂͌̋ͅe̶͍̖̖̋̌̒̋͌̀͋̆̑̈́͋̚͘,̵̢̞̹͎͎͎̻̼̭̽̒̽̉̍̿̓̉̊̎̀̊̊͝ ̷͈̠͕̓̑̿͌̎̒͗b̵̧̙̖̭͍͖̤̦̳̠̹̋̆͛̀̉̕ư̷͇̲͂́̈͑̏̅̌͂͒͘ͅt̷̛̘̮͍͙̳̠̤̖̦͍̘̝̑̄̽́͂̍͛̋̎͂͊͗̚.̸̪̽͜.̸̖͇̻̾̎̑̅͂̔͑͗̾͑̌̄̈͘.̶̭̼͙̝͉̝̙͒̋͋ͅͅ  
̵̛̭̻̉̍͋͒͊̎͑́̆̕͘͠͠.̷̧̨̧̠͙̺͔̐̅̈́̌̇̏̀̓̉.̵̨̯͉̼̳̥̫͎̔̎̓͌̎̉̔͑̃̔̎̄̊͝͝ͅ.̶̧̡̗̮̗̟̘͇͙̖̟̠̑̇̈́͌̐̈́̋̎̇̽̿D̸̘͇̣̰̗͊͌̆̾̈́͘ȯ̷͓̭̥̰̳̘̜͌̍̓e̴̘̦̟͙̥̲̹͇̣͆̒̑̆̇̔͒̎͆͠ş̶̠̭͈͙̠̹̫̺̗̻̥̔̐̅̈́̎̃ͅ ̴̢̣͚̻͉͉̩̯̇̎̄̓̑̒̑̋͝į̶̨͚̝̳̼͖͖̯̂͗̈́̓̅͒̏̀̌̒͘t̸̨̛̮̹̰̺̝̥̊͂͌̌̽͆̾͐̌̚͝ ̴̭͔̲̩̹̼͎̪̤̥͖̆͂̿̅͒̓͊̅͘̕r̴̮͔͉̳̱̗̠͈͉̊̂͂̉͒̃͗̐́e̴͕̰̘͇͂͂͛a̸̹̒̀͂̈́͊̕l̶̡̜̪̹̪̭̪̞̖͒̈́̍͊́͐̔̋͘͝͝l̶̛̖̦͗̏̈́̾̌̔̈̂̊͘͜ÿ̸̢̨̱͇̝̜̖͚̗͈́͛̈͗̾́ ̸̨͔̳̣̗̙͓̯̜͈͖̺̹̊̈́͗̅͒̍̔͐͂̾̾̚͠n̴̡̠̪̭̹͖̗͔̫̗̹̓̐̔̄̓͑̉̎̂̉̀̒̚ͅe̶̬͙͈̟̳͇̤͎̳̮̹̯̣̍͌̑̔̌͑́̒̏̂̚͜͜e̶̛̛̛̪͚͙̎͑͒̈́̅̂͌̇͝ḑ̵̛̳̬͉̳̥̼͖͑̾̌͛̓̈̍̈́͛̚ ̸̛̦͓̣͔̰̃̀͋̇̆̂͑̃͆̆̉̆̈́ͅt̶̢̧̳͓͎̰̗͔̼͈̜͈̘̑̓̏̈̀̈̑̈̍͜͝͠o̶̧̧̝̗͆͂̈́ ̴̨̢̠̻͙̞̲̳͎̝͎͍͚͋̿͜͠ṣ̵̘̟̈́̄̉̄̍̇̌͗̐̋͘͝͝t̷̢͍̘̠͇̱̰̳͆̓͘͝͝o̸͎̫̅̾̃̇̕ͅp̶̡̛͈̩͉͚̲̼̜̝̠̓͠͠ͅ ̴̨̡̟͇̼̌̑t̵̢̡̥̪͈͓̥̹͠h̴͇̞͕̼͛̅͋̌̒̅ë̵̳̬̱͓͈̩͔̹͕̾̈͐͂͐̉̒̚͜͝r̷̢̞̪̯̺͔̯̭̜̾̈́̎̾͋̈́́͂͜͝ͅȅ̸̘̠̱̖̞̃̃̓̒̉̾͐͜͠͠?̴̢̨̘̘̤̞̘͕͎̜̉̆̓̊̅

"We'll see what the future holds, Sayori," I say. "In the meantime, I think I'm going to have to take a nap when I get back home. My head is starting to hurt."

"Okay! Remember to take some aspirin and drink lots of water!"

"Will do."

***Save**


	3. Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In another save file, Kaito attends the Literature Club for the second time, and finds a shared interest in the same manga with Natsuki.

***Load**

Natsuki is rummaging through the closet at the back of the clubroom, all the while grumbling out complaints under her breath. 

"Ugh..." she huffs. "Why does this always happen?"

_She seems to be annoyed at something- maybe she won't mind a little bit of help?_

I approach her slowly, making sure that she can hear my footsteps so that I don't startle her. 

"You looking for something in there?" I ask.

"Freaking Monika..." Natsuki mutters. "She never puts my stuff back in the right spot! What's the point in keeping your collection organized if someone else is just going to mess it up?"

Natsuki slides a bunch of stacked books and boxes across the shelf. I can't help but notice that all of the books look like manga covers.

"You read manga, right?" Natsuki asks.

"Ah....sometimes. Mostly. Occasionally. Every now and then." 

Natsuki snickers into one hand. "I knew it," she says with a smirk.

"...What do you mean by that?"

"I heard you mention it earlier. Besides, it's kind of written on your face."

"Oh, right."

Then the second sentence registers with me. 

_What's that supposed to mean? Is it a compliment? An insult? Both???_

"I-I...see."

_I really don't see, but I'm not going to tell Natsuki that._

There's a lone volume of manga amidst a stack of various books on the side of one of the shelves; I pull out the manga and ask, "Is this the one you're looking for?"

"There it is!" Natsuki says happily, snatching the book out of my hands before I can get a good glimpse at the cover. She then turns to the box of manga and slips the volume into the middle of the rest. "Aah, much better!" 

Natsuki lets out a relieved sigh. "Seeing a box set with one book missing is probably the most irritating sight in the world," she confides.

"I know that feel-"

I get a closer look at the books she's admiring. 

"Hey, is that the _Parfait Girls?",_ I blurt out without thinking.

About five years ago, a classmate of mine gave me the book for a Secret Santa gift exchange. It was a tattered copy, and he later told me, in front of his jeering friends, that his little sister had thrown it away because she thought it was 'too babyish.'

When I unwrapped the gift, I was really embarrassed, and vowed to throw the thing in the trash. For some reason, though, at home I began flipping through the pages just for a laugh.

Almost immediately, I was hooked. 

It's really embarrassing to admit that I love the series, seeing as it's way out of my demographic. Sure, there are cute girls as the main characters, but they aren't drawn in an overly sexual style. I haven't read them in years, though, not since...

Natsuki perks up. "You know them?"

"Yeah," I admit, a little sheepish. "I used to have my own collection of these books, just like yours. Mine were secondhand, though. Haven't read any of those books in ages."

Natsuki raises an eyebrow, looking a little peeved. "What, did you decide you were too grownup and _mature_ for these kind of things?" 

I shake my head, looking down at the ground. "Uh...well...it's kind of complicated."

" _Sure_ it was," Natsuki says with a huff. "You guys are all the same. I bet some of your friends found out and you were too much of a wimp to admit you liked them."

"...Kind of."

"Hah! I knew it!" Natsuki crows.

"But it wasn't my friends who found my collection, it was my dad. He...um...burned the entire set. Took me out into the backyard, made me pour gasoline all over them, and had me watch as he burned all the books. He burned my sketchbook as well. Um...he moved out about a year ago, but I was kind of discouraged by then. I mean, I still draw and read manga, but... " 

"..."

_Oh no, I made everything awkward._

"Well, where did you stop off?" Natsuki demands, hands on her hips.

"I honestly don't remember."

"Well, in that case," Natsuki says determinedly, "you might as well start over from square one!"

Natsuki takes out the first book from the box. "Don't just stand there!" she insists, dragging me by my arm out of the closet. "How are we supposed to talk about the series if you can't remember any of the important details?"

Letting go of my arm, she then takes a seat against the wall, beneath the windowsills. Natsuki pats the space next to her. 

"Wouldn't chairs be more comfortable?" I ask, plunking myself down next to her.

Natsuki shrugs. "We can't read at the same time like that."

I nod in agreement. "Yeah, it's easier to see the pages if we're close like this."

Natsuki startles, her face flushing pink. "D-don't just say that! You'll make me feel weird about it!"

She then crosses her arms and scootches an inch away from me. 

_Oh no, I **really** made everything awkward._

"S-sorry."

I didn't exactly plan on sitting this close to her, either...not that I can say it's a particularly bad thing.

For a moment, I run my hand over the familiar cover. It's been such a long time, but memories of the series are already flooding back into my brain.

I open the book.

It's only a few seconds before Natsuki once again inches closer, reclaiming the original space while she hopes I won't notice. I can feel her peer over my shoulder, just as eager as I am to begin reading.

"Wow, how long has it been since I read the beginning...?" Natsuki comments. 

"Hm? You don't go back and flip through the older novels every now and then?" 

She sighs. "Not really. Maybe sometimes after I've already finished the whole series."

I flip to the next page, pointing to a specific panel. "I remember this part...I used to spend ages trying to recreate a similar perspective in my own drawings...I never managed to get it good enough, though. The art is amazing, isn't it? I think that's my favorite part about the whole series."

"Really? Not the amazing story-lines and great characters?" Natsuki challenges, a steely glint in her eyes. 

I shrug. "I was always more interested in the art style. I did read the books, but not as intensely as you probably have." 

Natsuki huffs. "Well, this time you're going to read everything _properly_ , and you're going to love every _second_ of it."

"Seeing all this baking always made me hungry," I admit. "Actually, come to think of it...did you get into this series because of all the baking, or did you get into baking because of this series?"

"That's just a coincidence! I just happened to get into baking around the same time I got this manga. Like I would ever get into anything because it's in a manga. I feel bad for anyone that impressionable. Ahaha!"

 _Definitely_ not a coincidence.

"Actually, this reminds of something. I don't know if you remember me saying this, but I made a cake for Sayori's birthday a while back."

Natsuki snickers. "The one where you put salt instead of sugar? And burned the icing?"

"I was trying to recreate one of the recipes. I think it was in issue #41."

"The birthday celebration? No, that was issue #45."

"It's kind of embarrassing, but I used to try and do a lot of stuff I'd read in various manga's. I would even rope Sayori into doing all sorts of crazy things with me, as well. She wasn't too hard to convince, though. I eventually stopped after I nearly ended up rollerblading into a moving van while blindfolded and carrying a wooden sword and shield."

Natsuki snorts. "Seriously?!"

"...Yeah, I'm not proud of that moment."

"Man, you're such a dweeb!"

"I know."

We read on for a few more minutes. 

"Are you sure this isn't boring you? I'm a pretty slow reader, and I know a lot of people get frustrated reading stuff over my shoulder since I take a while to get through a single page."

"I'm not bored!" Natsuki insists. 

"Even though you're just watching me read?"

"Well...! I'm fine with that."

"...I guess it's fun sharing something you like with someone else. Like when Sayori showed me how to knit. She was really excited teaching me, even though I messed up a lot. Plus, even though Sayori isn't really into manga, she does like it when I draw her fan art from my favorite series. You know what I mean?"

Natsuki shrugs, her expression closed. "...Well, I wouldn't really know."

"What do you mean? Don't you share your manga with your friends?"

Natsuki flushes. "Can you not rub it in?"

"Honestly," I admit, "the only people I talk about manga is with Sayori, and some kind-of friends at school. Also, I don't know if this counts, but I sometimes talk with some people on this one forum online. But usually the guys on the site just argue with each other about whether or not something is canon, fighting about which characters should be shipped together, and rating the top ten types of anime titties."

Natsuki pulls a face. "Gross."

Then, she sighs. "Like I could ever get my friends to read this...they just think manga is for kids. I can't even bring it up without them being all like...'Eh? You still haven't grown out of that?' Makes me want to punch them in the face..."

"Ugh, I know these kind of people. It's really hard to find friends that don't judge, much less friends who are also into it...I have some sort-of friends who also like anime and manga...but we're aren't buddies or anything like that, though. At least they listen to my fan theories, even if they make fun of them."

Natsuki lets out an even deeper sigh.

"I mean, I feel like I can't even keep it in my own room...I don't even know what my dad would do if he found this. At least it's safe in the club room. 'Cept Monika was kind of a jerk about it...ugh! I just can't win, can I?"

We sit in silence for a little while.

"...At least you can share it with me? I really missed this series."

"I guess, it's not like it solves any of my problems, though."

"Maybe...but at least you're enjoying yourself, right?"

Natsuki flushes pink. "...Are we just going to sit here? Can we move on already? Sheesh!"

I flip to the next page. 

Suddenly, Natsuki starts laughing. "Ahahaha! I totally forgot that happens!"

Natsuki puts her finger on one of the panels. "Minori is my favorite character. You always feel a little bad for her, since she's so unlucky. But it gets especially bad when- wait, do you remember anything after issue #55?"

"No, sorry."

"Then I shouldn't be talking about that yet!"

"You know, I always liked Sakura the best. She reminds me of Sayori, you know? All goofy and silly and constantly hungry."

"...Huh, I never thought of that! They even have the same hair color!"

We spend the next few minutes talking about the series, with Natsuki helping me catch up on the things I'd forgotten. 

"Okay, everyone!" Monika calls from the front of the room. "All you all ready with today's poems?"

Natsuki lets out an annoyed huff. "Oh, come on! Could your timing be any worse?"

"Sorry! I just need to make sure we have enough time," Monika explains. With a teasing giggle, she adds, "Though you do look pretty cozy over there. Ahaha!"

"Eh?..." Natsuki says, clearly confused. Startling away from me with a yelp, Natsuki hastily slides about twelve inches away from me. 

"Alright, I guess we'll stop here for now," I say, before closing the book and offering it to Natsuki. 

"You're just giving it back...?" Natsuki raises her eyebrows. "I thought you said you missed reading it?"

"I do, but Monika just said-"

Rolling her eyes, Natsuki interrupts me. "Don't be dumb," she scoffs, "just take it home with you." She pauses for a second. "Just don't let your dad burn it, alright?"

"I haven't seen him in years, so all's good."

"...Don't let it get bent, either," Natsuki warns. "If it gets bent, I'll kill you."

"I'll have it back by tomorrow."

"Good! Because that's just how long I'm loaning it to you."

Standing up, I return to where I put my stuff and carefully slip the book into my bag.

"By the way," Monika asks me, "did you remember to write a poem last night?"

"Y-yeah," I say nervously.

My relaxation ends; I can't believe I agreed to do something this embarrassing. It was hard coming up with inspiration, seeing as I've never done this before. Even after reading some guides on the internet, it was still really difficult to put my pencil to the paper and start writing. 

"Well," Monika says cheerfully, "now that everyone's ready, why don't you find someone to share with?"

"I can't wait!" Sayori says excitedly.

Both Sayori and Monika enthusiastically pull out their poems; Sayori's poem is on a wrinkled sheet of loose leaf torn from a spiral notebook, Monika's poem, on the other hand, is written in a composition book.

I can already see Monika's pristine handwriting from where I sit.

Natsuki and Yuri reluctantly comply as well, reaching into their bags.

I do the same, myself.

Sayori, of course. I'm definitely most comfortable sharing it with her first. She my best friend, after all. 

...

My only friend, to be honest.

I hand my poem to Sayori, and she takes several minutes scanning through it.

Sayori's always been a quick reader, so her spending so much time on it concerns me.

"Sayori?"

"...Oh my goodness! This is sooooooo good!" Sayori excitedly squeals. 

"Eh?"

"I love it! I had no idea you were such a good writer!"

I feel my face flush. "Sayori, are you just saying this because you're my friend? Because I'm not a good writer at all. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing. I had to look up how to write poems last night, and that didn't even help."

"Well..." Sayori starts, "maybe that's why! Because I have no idea what I like, either!"

She giggles.

"Jeez...I suppose we'll have to muddle through this together."

Still, I'm sure Yuri's opinion will be more constructive than this.

Maybe even Natsuki's. 

"Are you sure you don't like it just because I wrote it?"

"Eh? Well, I'm sure that's part of it. I think I understand you better than a lot of people, you know? So when I read your poem, it's not just a poem. It's a Kaito poem! And that makes it feel extra special! Like I can feel your feelings in it!"

Sayori hugs the sheet to her chest.

I ruffle her hair. "You're so weird, Sayori."

"Ehehe...I'm really happy just that you wrote one. It just reminds me how you're really a part of the club now."

Besides the fact that I'm standing in front of her right now?

"Er...well...of course. I'm not really into it yet, but I that doesn't mean I'll break my promise."

"See? It's like I said before, Kaito...deep down you're not selfish at all, you know? Trying new things for other people...that's something only really good people do!"

"Thanks, Sayori."

"I'm gonna make sure you have a lot of fun, here, okay? That will be my way of thanking you!"

"Alright," I say with a smile, "I'm going to hold you to that."

"Yay! Now, you'll read my poem too, right? Don't worry, I'm really bad at this. Ehehehe..."

"We'll see about that."

**_Sunshine_ **

_The way you glow through my blinds in the morning_   
_It makes me feel like you missed me._   
_Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed._   
_Making me rub the sleepy from my eyes._

_Are you asking me to come out and play?_   
_Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?_   
_I look above. The sky is blue._   
_It's a secret, but I trust you too._

_If it wasn't for you, I could sleep forever._   
_But I'm not mad._

_I want breakfast._

"Sayori, this is just a guess, but...did you wait until morning to write this?"

There's a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks. 

"No! J-just a little bit!"

I nudge her shoulder with mine. "You can't answer 'just a little bit' to a yes or no question."

"I forgot to do it last night," Sayori finally admits.

"Well, at least that makes me feel a little better about myself..."

"Don't be mean!" Sayori says, swatting me on the arm. "I still tried my best..."

"Ah, yeah. I didn't mean to say it's a bad poem. It came out nice...or, how should I put it...it sounds just like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Especially that last line."

"I made eggs and toast!"

"Even though you were late to school?"

"It's bad to skip breakfast! I get all cranky..."

I sigh. "Well, I guess there's no point in arguing. Well, do you think we should go trade poems with someone else?"

"Alright! This was fun. Monika's the best!"

"Ah...yeah."

"Next time," Sayori promises, "I won't forget! And I'll write the best poem ever!"

"Well, I guess I look forward to it."

**Who should I show my poem to next?**

***Natsuki**

***Yuri**

***Monika**

Yuri stares at the poem in silence. 

"Mm..." 

A minute passes, more than enough for her to read to finish reading. 

I shuffle my feet a little. "Um..."

Oh!" Yuri exclaims, sweating nervously. "S-sorry! I forgot to start speaking..."

"It's fine, don't force yourself. I always kind of worry whether I'm talking too much or not enough, and then I stress out because I feel like I've just said something dumb and made everything awkward or something. And then my hands starting sweating and suddenly I'm the guy with sweaty hands. Um. That was too much information, I'm sorry. I ramble when I get nervous."

Yuri smiles at me, her expression relieved. "I just need to put my thoughts into words. Hold on...okay." After a moment, Yuri asks, "This is your first time writing a poem, right?"

"Yeah...was it really that obvious?"

"I was just making sure," Yuri assures me. "I guessed it might be after reading it."

"...Is it that bad?"

"No!!" Yuri immediately flushes bright red. "Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice."

She then buries her face in her hands.

We haven't really gotten anywhere, but I also don't want to pressure Yuri into talking. 

Sayori and Natsuki were a little easier to talk with, mostly because they took the lead in the conversation. Yuri, though, seems to be a bit like me, albeit a lot shyer.

_When I get nervous, I ramble._

_It seems like that when Yuri gets nervous, she withdraws even more._

"Don't worry about it, I didn't even notice. Besides, I really do what to hear how you think I can improve my writing style."

"Right...um...it's just that there are writing habits that are usually typical of new writers. And having been through that myself, I kind of learned how to pick up on them. I think the most noticeable thing about new writers is that they try and make their style deliberate. In other words, they tend to pick a writing style separate from the topic matter, and they form fit the two together. The end result is that both the style and the expressiveness are weakened. "

I nod in agreement.

Yuri sounds a lot more confident then she was earlier; her stammering is completely gone, and she sounds like an expert.

"Of course, that's not something you can be blamed for. There are so many different skills and techniques that go into writing even a simple poem. It might take you some time, but it all comes with practice, learning by example, and trying new things."

"Thanks, Yuri. That's really helpful."

Yuri flushes. "I also hope everyone else can give you valuable feedback. Natsuki can be a little biased though..."

"Biased? How?"

"U-um...well...never mind...I shouldn't be talking about people like that...sorry."

"It's fine. Don't worry, I won't say anything."

I'm not sure if Yuri is apologizing to me, herself, or Natsuki, but I don't want to pry. 

So, instead I ask, "Would it be alright for me to read your poem?"

Yuri smiles at me. "Please do!"'

**_Ghost under the light_ **

_The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow._   
_Bathing._   
_It must be this one._   
_The last remaining streetlight to have withstood the test of time._   
_The last yet to be replaced by the sickening blue-green of the future._   
_I bathe. Calm; breathing air of the present but living in the past._   
_The light flickers._   
_I flicker back._

Yuri looks worriedly up at me. "I...I'm sorry I have such terrible handwriting!"

"Huh? You have great handwriting!"

"But it took you a long time to read..."

"I'm just a slow reader in general. This is kind of embarrassing, since I'm in a Literature Club and all, but reading has always been tricky for me. Also, I don't read script very often. I think your handwriting is really pretty!"

"Eh? That's...a relief. Not about the whole reading difficulty, of course. I just mean that I'm glad you didn't find it tricky to read."

"More importantly, though, I liked your poem. You've got a way with words."

"It wasn't too short? I usually write longer poems..."

"Not at all."

"I'm...really glad you like it. I'll be honest...since it's our first sharing, I wanted to write something a little bit more mild. Something easier to digest, I suppose."

"Are you into ghosts, Yuri?"

"Actually, the poem isn't about ghosts at all."

"R-really? Sorry about that, Yuri, I guess I really missed the point on that one."

"Well, I suppose you did only glance over it, after all...but remember that poets often express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in their work. They usually do more than tell a simple story, or paint a picture. In this case, perhaps the subject of the poem is only being symbolically compared to a ghost. Lingering in her last remaining comfort, unable to let go of her past. And soon to be left with nothing...that's a lot more solemn, putting it that way." 

"I didn't even think about it like that...but I really like the way you described it."

"It's nothing really," Yuri says modestly, "but...it makes me happy to hear that you like it. Just remember that it won't be long before you pick on these things, too."

"Maybe you're right. Although," I say with a grin, "I'm not sure I'll ever get my handwriting up to par with yours."

Yuri snorts, then looks embarrassed. "Sorry! I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry, everything's all _write_. You know, cause the word right sounds like write, and all."

Yuri giggles, hand covering her mouth as though she's trying not to show that she's smiling. 

_She has a lovely laugh._

"I think I get it."

**Who should I show my poem to next?**

***Natsuki**

***Monika**

The next person I show my poem to is Natsuki.

I'd expected her to have some sort of criticism against my writing, so the fact that she's not saying anything is more than a little concerning. 

Finally, Natsuki looks up at me, her expression unreadable. "...Okay, well let's start with the things I don't like! First of all, um..."

Natsuki pauses, taking the time to reread my poem. She's starting to flush a little. "N-never mind, I don't feel like giving you my opinion."

"Eh? Then what's the point of sharing in the first place? I wrote this when I could be doing other stuff. In fact, remember how I said I wanted to read your poems? That's what I had in mind while writing this. I want to help you feel comfortable enough to share yours."

"Uuu..." Natsuki groans, hands on her hips. "Well, I'd feel more comfortable sharing my poem if yours was really bad! You were supposed to show me this dumb poem and make me go 'Hah, well it's not that great but let me show you what real literature looks like! And you went and ruined it! I hope you're happy!"

"...Wait, does that mean you liked it?" I ask.

"Urk-!" Natsuki's retort gets caught in her throat. Clenching her hands into fists, she lets out a deep groan. "You just...you...don't understand anything, do you? I already told you that, you don't have to go announcing it the world like you're all self-important!"

"Oh. Um...sorry?"

"Don't apologize, that makes it worse!" Natsuki snaps. 

"In any case," I continue, "you still need to show me your poem, right?"

Natsuki huffs. "Gr...fine, I guess. Only because Monika will make me if I don't."

**_Eagles can fly_ **

_Monkeys can climb_   
_Crickets can leap_   
_Horses can race_   
_Owls can seek_   
_Cheetahs can run_   
_Eagles can fly_   
_People can try_   
_But that's about it._

"Yeah, I told you that you wouldn't like it."

"I like it. The ending's cool, and it takes me by surprise. It starts off flowing, and then it takes me for a loop with the last line."

"What?"

...Oh no, I messed up and made her mad.

"Just be honest!"

Actually, I think she doesn't look angry. She looks...nervous?

"Why are you so certain I won't like it?" 

"Because!" Natsuki snaps, crossing her arms over her chest, "Everyone in high school thinks that writing has to be all sophisticated and stuff...so people don't take my writing seriously."

"But isn't the point of poems to express themselves? Your writing style wouldn't make your message any less valid."

"Yes, exactly! It's easy to read, but it hits you hard. Like in this poem! Seeing people around you do great things can be really disheartening...so I decided to write about it. "

"I totally get that. When I see other really talented people doing amazing things, sometimes I don't even want to try. Especially when they're really younger than me." 

"Exactly! Anyway, the other great thing about simple writing is that it puts more weight on the wordplay. Like I set up for a rhyme at the end, but then I made it fall flat on purpose. It helps bring out the feeling in the last line."

"So you did...I guess more went into it than I realized."

Natsuki beams at me. "That's why I'm such a pro! I'm glad you learned something. Didn't expect from the youngest one here, did you?"

"Yeah, I guess not."

I decide to humor her with that last comment. I don't really care how old she is, but if Natsuki is feeling proud, than I won't take it away from her.

***Monika**

Now it's time to share my piece with Monika. When she gets my work, she scans the paper thoughtfully, green eyes focused on every single ink stroke.

Have I made some kind of spelling error?

...I probably did.

Maybe I can claim that I'm taking poetic license or something?

Would that even work on her?

Oh no, she's finished reading it.

"...Mmh! I like it, Kaito!" Monika praises. 

"Really?"

Monika nods. "It's a lot cuter than I expected," she teases. 

I can feel my face flush. "Oh...jeez...um..."

"No, no!" Monika quickly says, before adding, "It reminds me of something Natsuki would write. And she's a good writer, too. So take that as a compliment!"

"...I guess so."

"By any chance have you read anything by Shel Silverstein?" Monika asks.

I think for a moment. "The name sounds familiar to me, but I can't remember too much about his books. Didn't he write one called 'The Giving Tree' or something?"

"Yep, you're right! Anyway, he's famous for telling all kinds of stories in just a few simple words. His poems can be funny, endearing, or even sad...and sometimes they're only a few lines long. They might even feel like they were written for kids, but if you think about them...they can express views about the world that would apply to anybody."

"I see..." I comment. "So you're saying Natsuki is kind of like that?"

Monika shrugs. "Sort of. Maybe she's not an expert...but you probably won't find much filler in her poems. They might be easy to write, but they're super challenging to get the meaning through. So I can see why it would be your kind of poem to explore!"

"I'm sure I'll end up trying different things a lot. It could take a while before I feel comfortable doing this."

"That's okay!" Monika says with a cheerful smile, "I'd love to see you try new things. That's the best way to find a style that suits you. Everyone might be a little biased toward their own kind of styles...but I'll always help you find what style suits you the most! So don't force yourself to write the way anyone else wants you to write. It's not like you have to worry about impressing them or anything."

"That's where you're wrong," I joke, "I feed on validation. I constantly worry about what people think of me."

Both of us giggle.

It's funny how easy it is to talk to Monika. 

"Anyway, do you want to read my poem now? Don't worry, I'm not very good."

"You sound pretty confident for someone who claims not to be any good."

Monika shrugs. "That's because I have to sound confident. That doesn't mean I always feel that way, you know?"

I guess that's everyone. 

Whew, it was a lot more stressful than I could have anticipated...but it was almost kind of fun as well. 

Maybe.

Is it worth all this stress?

Um...

I'll think about that later.

I glance across the room, where Sayori and Monika are happily chatting. Then, my eyes land on Yuri and Natsuki, gingerly exchanging their sheets of paper, sharing their respective poems.

As they read in tandem, I watch each of their expressions change.

Neither of them look particularly happy.

Natsuki's brows furrow in frustration. Meanwhile, Yuri smiles sadly. 

_This isn't good._

From across the room, I hear Natsuki mutter, "What's with this language...?" under her breath. 

"Eh? Um...did you say something?" Though polite, I can hear the steely edge underneath Yuri's tone.

_Oh no._

"Oh, it's nothing," Natsuki says, all faux casual. Dismissively, she returns the poem to the desk with one hand. "I guess you could say it's fancy."

"Ah-thanks..." Yuri stutters. "Yours is...cute." She's clearly grasping for straws, hoping not to offend Natsuki.

From Natsuki's outraged expression, it's clear that Yuri's attempt failed.

"Cute? Did you completely miss the symbolism or something? It's clearly about the feeling of giving up. How can that be cute?"

"I-I know that!" Yuri stammers, "I just meant...the language, I guess...I was trying to say something nice..."

Natsuki's scowl grows even deeper. "Eh? You mean you had to try that hard to come up with something nice to say? Thanks, but it didn't really come out nice at all!"

"Umm...well, I have a couple of suggestions..." Yuri begins.

Natsuki huffs.

_Oh no oh no oh no. Why did you have to say that, Yuri?_

"If I was looking for suggestions," Natsuki snips, "I would have asked someone who actually liked it. Which people _did,_ by the way. Sayori liked it. Kaito liked it too! So based on that, I'll gladly give you some suggestions of my own."

_Oh no she mentioned my name why did she have to mention me by name?_

_Why did you mention me by name Natsuki?_

"First off all-" Natsuki begins, before quickly getting cut off by Yuri.

"Excuse me..." Yuri says, "I appreciate the offer, but I've spent a long time establishing my writing style. I don't expect it to change anytime soon, unless I find something particular inspiring. Which I haven't yet."

_Oh **god** Yuri why did you say that?_

_Why isn't anyone stepping in?_

"Nngh!" 

Crossing her arms, Yuri says dismissively, "And Kaito liked my poem too, you know. He even told me he was impressed by it."

Natsuki suddenly stands up. "Oh? I didn't realize you were so invested in trying to impress our new member, Yuri," Natsuki snarks.

Yuri's face flushes bright pink. No longer cool and collected, Yuri stammers out, "That's not what I...you..you're just..."

Yuri stands up as well, pointing an accusatory finger in Natsuki's face. "Maybe you're just _jealous_ that Kaito appreciates my advice more than he appreciated yours!"

It doesn't look like either Sayori _or_ Monika have noticed what's going on.

_Please turn around please turn around please turn around..._

"Huh! And how do you know he didn't appreciate _my_ advice more?" Natsuki snaps back, hands clenching into fists. "Are you that full of yourself?"

"I..! No..." Yuri stares down at her hands for a moment, before whipping her head back up again. "If I was full of myself...I would deliberately go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!"

"Uuuuu...!" Natsuki growls, puffing herself upwards in order to stare Yuri directly in the eyes.

 _Finally,_ Sayori turns, notices the commotion, and hurries over to them both. "U-um...is everyone okay?"

"Well, you know what?!" Natsuki sneers, "At least I wasn't the one whose boobs magically grew a size bigger when Kaito started showing up!!"

"N-Natsuki!!" Yuri yelps.

_Don't look at her boobs don't look at her boobs don't look at her boobs..._

"Um, Natsuki," Monika begins, clearly taken aback, "that's a little-"

Both Yuri and Natsuki snap, "This doesn't involve you!"

Monika startles, taking a step back.

"I-I don't like fighting, guys..." Sayori whimpers.

Then, to my horror, both Natsuki and Yuri turn back to me, as if noticing me properly for the first time. 

_Oh **no**._

"Kaito...!" Yuri stammers, "She's just trying to make me look bad...!"

"That's not true! She started it! If she could just get over herself and learn to appreciate that _simple_ writing is more effective...then this wouldn't have happened in the first place! What's the point in making your poems all convoluted for no reason? The meaning should jump out at the reader, not force them to have to figure it out. Help me explain it to her, Kaito!" 

_Why is she asking me???????_

_I don't know **anything** about poetry!_

"W-wait!" Yuri cries, and for a blissful moment I think she's going to tell Natsuki something along the lines of, _"Kaito's a beginner, we shouldn't force him to choose!"_

Instead-

"There's a reason we have so many deep and expressive words in our language! It's the only way to convey complex feelings and meaning the most effectively. Avoiding them is not only unnecessarily limiting yourself...it's also a waste! You understand that, right, Kaito?"

_No! I don't understand! I don't understand anything at all!_

"Um.."

"Well??" The two of them snap at me.

"..."

_How did I get dragged into this in the first place?! My opinion literally means nothing here! I know nothing about writing, let alone poetry!_

**But whomever I agree with, they'll probably think more highly of me!**

**So of course that's going to be...**

***̸̜̺̦̑̒̓̈͂͂̆͂̃̆̈̍̚͝N̷̹͙̬̙̬̟͚̩̯͚͗̾͛̃̐̆͝a̸̧͕͙̠̠̥̯͕̲͙̙͌̾̀̽̔̑̈́̌̚̚͝ͅt̸̛͙̙̭̞͖̩͔̎̅͊͝ş̵̨̩̮̹̰̺̱̯͎͓̦̙̰͑̆̽͝ű̶͓̫̏͂͌̏̈́̅̒̎k̴̥̂͆͗͗į̵̟̦̭̙̪̤̱̲̬̱̞̬͖̇**

***̵̨̢͚̬̱̖͓͊Y̴̢̩̼͉͔̮͍̽̉͌̉̐̍̃͆̅͜ͅų̴̧͖̜̦͙͙̺͕͓͉̞̺̉̌̈́́͑̇̾̊̽̉̈͘̕͜ṙ̶̦̙͉̹̦͒͊̋̍͆̇͑̅̕͠i̷̛͖͓̋̂͌̈́̈́̐̕͘͝͝**

***Help me, Sayori!**

_What do I do????_

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

_I can't choose a side! Both of them have valid points!_

My vision blurs for a second, and for a brief moment, I feel sick to my stomach.

"N-Natsuki...Yuri..."

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

My head is spinning, and all my words are stuck in my throat.

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

"...Y-you guys, w-why...um...Sayori!"

"Eh?" Sayori gasps, clearly startled at being put in spotlight.

"Everyone's fighting is making Sayori uncomfortable!"

Because they are.

_Sayori hates conflict even more than I do._

Remembering this gives me the courage to stand tall. 

"How can the two of you keep fighting like this when you know you're making your friend feel like this?"

"...Well, that's her problem!" Natsuki says snootily. "This isn't about her."

"I-I agree," Yuri says coldly, "it's unfair for others to interject their feelings into our conflict."

"Yeah, unless Sayori wants to tell Yuri what a stuck-up jerk she's being."

"She would never...! It's your immaturity that's made her upset in the first place!"

" _Excuse_ me? Are you listening to yourself? This is exactly why...exactly why nobody likes-"

" _Stop!!_ " Sayori shouts.

Everyone falls silent; I think this is the first time any of them has ever heard her get this loud. 

"Natsuki! Yuri! You guys are my friends!" Sayori tells them earnestly. "I-I just want everyone to get along and be happy! My friends are wonderful people...and I love them because of their differences! Natsuki's poems...they're amazing because they give you so many feelings with just a few words! And Yuri's are so amazing because they paint beautiful pictures in your head!"

_This is who Sayori is._

Underneath all her layers, she's always been someone who understands people, knows how to look deep within and see things others miss.

"Everyone's so talented...so why are we fighting...?"

Both Natsuki and Yuri look unsure.

"Be-because..." Natsuki halfheartedly begins. 

"Well..."

The two of them fall silent.

"Also!" Sayori says, in a much more cheerful voice, "Natsuki's cute and there's nothing wrong with that! And Yuri's boobs are the same as they always were! Big and beautiful!!"

There's an awkward pause.

Sayori stands triumphantly.

Monica stands behind her with a bewildered expression. 

"I'll... make some tea..." Yuri says quickly, before rushing off.

Natsuki sits down with a blank expression on her face, staring at nothing.

I make my way over to Monika, and say quietly, "So this is why Sayori's Vice President..."

She nods in return.

"To be honest," Monika admits quietly, "I might come off as a good leader, and I can organize things...but I'm not very good with people."

Monika looks down at the floor, face flushing. "I couldn't even bring myself to interject. As President, that's kind of embarrassing of me."

Looking back up, she chuckles awkwardly. "Ahaha..."

"Are you kidding? You saw how I reacted. If anyone should be embarrassed, it's me."

"Well..." Monika begins, "I guess that means Sayori is amazing in her own ways, isn't she?"

"People tend to underestimate her, you know. They think she's some kind of airhead, and I won't deny she acts like one. But...she's a lot deeper and complex than most people give her credit for."

"I see. Take good care of her, okay? I would hate to see her get hurt."

"That makes two of us...but don't worry, you can count on me."

Monika smiles sweetly at me, causing my stomach to knot. Such a generous person really does make a good president, regardless of what she says.

I̴̟̬͋͗̈́̑̀͝f̵̛̲͙͙̗̟̮̝͖͚̣͗̈́̊̒̇̂̐̕ ̴̣̺̪̞͉̹̣̭̮́ͅͅo̵̢̝̖͉̘̤̫͈͕̭̣̞̺̪͗̓́̾̔̇̐̕ñ̷̮͓͇̪̭̖̱͎̭̪̿͆͗̈l̴̢͇̩̗͕̯͕̭̪̫̳̖̭̺̈́̓̌͑̉̏y̴̠̼͋ ̷̱͙͚̦͕̠͇͙̝̒̆͋͐̀̈̕̕͝͝ͅI̷̡̡̳͓̮̖͕̲͍͇̣̞̭͒̆̓̔ ̷̡̯͔̞̮̅́̐c̶̨̧̝͍̠̺̪̜͉͌̅̊̈̅̄̽̀͜͝͠o̸̡̜̻̹͌̂̔͌̿̿̑̈́̉̚̚̚ư̴̩̪̖̣̝̭͎̹̼̖̼͈͖̱̘̔̂̽͂͊̾̒̅̽͂͝͝ĺ̵̨̠̟̳̳̻̲̯̞͜͝ḑ̸͕̰̟͚͈̖̲̱̬̳̙̣͛́̄̃̏͂͊̈́́͒ͅ ̵̛͓̙͓̯͍̯̖̯̘̓͌g̶̡̰̣̜̯͂͌̆͛̈̊̏͒̽̌͜e̵͔͇̗͍̬̩̞͔̗͑̾͌̍͛̔͗͒̿̏͗̐͊͘͝t̴̨̜̰̫̗͛̈̽̕͠͝ ̵͇͓͉̘̰͙̋̄͑̍̿̅̃͗̈́̽̈́͝͠͝͝a̵̮̹̖̳͙̬̮͇̰̱͆̄͝͝ ̴̧̲̦̻̤̮̦͊̿́̐̋͛̀̒͘c̶͙̼͋͗͋̈́̃̕ḩ̴̡̦̳̠̯͍̋̓̓̆̏͐̓̍͗̏͘͝ͅǎ̸̭̒̐̏͑͑̓͑͒̊̈̔͊̈n̷̡̧̼̬͖̔̿͐̾̂͐͆͗c̶̠̗̜̱̻̔͗͑̽̔͂̓̉̋̈́̍̅͝ȩ̶̫͙̙̝̰̫̙̮̘̇̔͒̃̓ ̶̨̹̼̖̬̲̖̪̞̗͈͂̈́̔͝͠t̴̡̡̞̦͇̩͉̪̳͚͎̦̞͑̽͛̉͆͑̈̅̔͆̚̕͝͝ö̵̠͉̞͐͑̇͌̈͋̎̿̈́̈́͌̚͝ ̶̞͎͖͛̏̒̉͂̔̊̎̃̚͜ͅţ̴̛̄͂̆̿̋̀̉ą̶̨̛̙͉͓̪̥̙̭̭͕̜̈́̍͑͊͑͛̿̆̍̕͜͝͝ͅl̵͍̱̖̙͓̗̑̌͌̄̑̓̊k̷̙̥̖͎̆̾̆́̉̈́̓̂͒̃̊ ̵̨̧̥̪͚͓͍͚̰̘̻̩̮̾̇t̶̛̮̳͊̀̌͐͒̾̍̐̆̍̈͗͠ơ̵̰̫̓̓͆́̿̃̈͗̄͘͝͝ ̷̢͖̟͉̾̈́̉͗͗̈́̏̌͘̕̕͜͠h̵̳̓͐ĕ̶̛̦͙͎̪̻̿̄͐̀́͆͑́̐͝r̴̼͙̆̂̒͊̓̒ ̴͔̩̹̙̬̯̹̂̇̔̑̐̍̃̍̆͋̈́̃͝m̴̢̛̤̏̽͊͆͐͗͛͂͋͛̕͠͠o̴̘͔͔̬̽͑̄͘r̶̬͙͖͎̙͕̯͔͗̌̏̈́̀é̵̫̹͉͑̅̆͂͐̒̃͛̕.̶̣̼̥͊͐̔̾͑̽̓͗̄̓̅̏͝͝.̸̢̩̮͚̠̞̣̮̦̤͆̐͋̈́͐̂̾͛̒ͅ.̴̨̛̟͈̻̯̊̾

_I just wish my head would stop aching..._

"Okay, everyone!" Monika announces, "It's just about time for us to leave. How did you all feel about sharing poems?"

"It was a lot of fun!" Sayori says with a smile. 

"Well," Yuri eventually says, "I'd say it's worth it."

Natsuki huffs. "It was alright. Well, mostly."

Then, Monika turns to me. "Kaito, how about you?"

"...Yeah, I'd say the same. It was a neat thing to talk about with everyone."

"Awesome! In that case, we'll do the same thing tomorrow. And maybe you've learned something from your friends, too. So your poems will turn out even better!"

Well, I did learn a little more about everyone's preferred style of poetry...that might be helpful in the future.

.

W̷̹̣̲̯̄̂̈́i̸̡̺̖̣̲̎̽͊̂̄̾̋͝ẗ̷͕̪̽͌̊͌̒̌̈́͊̈́̚̕͠͝h̸̼̊̑͒̅̏̌͒̃̏ ̵͈͙̟̱͖̪͐̀̉̕̕͘͜ă̸̩̳̳͇͕̼̲̒̇̿̾͆̿̆͑̒͗̕͝ņ̵̢̲̩̠̻̪̩̲̰̄̇̈́̆y̸̛̱̜̲̣̙͉͒̈̎̀͊̇̈́̍̍͑̕͠͝ͅ ̶̬̩͙̣̘̩̙̖̝̤̲͖̥̓̓̎̄̀͜l̷̤̻̠̱̾̌̓̒̋̆̐͜u̴̢̧̬̩̝̤͖̥̞̭̥̩͓̣̬͗͊̊̋̅͘c̸̛̙̅̄͐̃́̑͆̓̏̆̅͘͠k̷̛̻͌͐̋̿̽̑͆̓̚̕̕͝,̵͚͉͚͖̟̯̼̭̺͈͛̋̽͂̔̑̍͑̓̑͠ ̴͖̭̽̄͌̃͑t̴̛̬̫̿͑̓̅͗͘h̸̢͕͔̪͈̮̳̅̒̌̋̆͆̎͊̐̒͘͘͝a̷͇̳̟̤̳̠̖̍̽͌̐̃̓̈́̅͂͝t̴̟̍ ̸̢̭͚̳̼͚̬͉̿̈́̅͗͌͋͊͒̊̉͒͒͘m̷̛̟̺̈̇̒̔̈́̇̄͗e̷̡̙̪̜͇̞̭͖̱̻͉̝̰͊̃͑̋̈́͝a̴̧̝̟͊̎͂̈́͜n̶̩̗̝͉͗̿̀͠s̸̯̜̱̬̰̖̠̒͆̃̑̎̅̋͑̓̆͒̏͠ ̷̢̬͉̮̝̥͍̦̰̘̝͗̿͑͂̈͑͠ͅͅI̸̧̡͈̼͚̦̫̺͈̩͈̽̓̾͋͜ ̸̪̲̖͓͕̙̭̺̂̀̏̋̃̓̄̔̑̏̆͒c̶̢̢͎͚̗̩̩͕̰̼̽̕͜a̶̯͈͍̭͔͚̺̹̳̭̟̝̬͋̇͛̋̇̾̑̆́̏̈́͑̃̏ṅ̸̤̹̯͖̠̱̣̭͙͙̱̥͍̭̎̏̄͝͠ ̶̝̣̮̖̮͎̕a̴̬̘̳̱̩͗̌͌̈́̽͊̅̒̿̎̕͝t̸̨̛̰͈͓̙͌̒̅͌̃̅̚̚͝͝ ̵̦͈͓̪̪͍̜̬͚̈́ļ̸̞͙͎͖̫̖̤͖̤̩̭̐̈́̆̋̆̈́̏̽́͘͝ͅe̴̞̣̟͓̭͇̰̅̇̓̏̒͂̌̔̏̒̽ͅå̵̩̇͗̑s̵̨̨̭͎̲̘̈́͑̋̀̿̂̑̅͊t̵̢̨̡̞͕̱͙͚̻͍͚̭̑͑̈́͗͂̔͂̌̒͗̚ ̷̤̬̌̅͊̕d̴̢̧̛͚̬͚̲̜̼͚͎͍͚̊̈̕o̴̻͇̲͉͍̫̮͈̤͉̖̹̓̓̕̚͜͜ ̶̢̯̜̯̗͚̙̻͓̍̃̃̈́͑́̕͝͝a̷̬̙̯̿ ̷͓̭̼̇͒̿̋̃̆̒͐͋̋͂̕͝͠b̷̧̡͙̮̠̜̟̠̲̖̘̬̮̋̍̈́͌̿̂̃̄̎̕̚ê̶̛͖̜͙̣̱̾̍͌͛̅̅̈́̌͐͘ť̸̗͔̫̿̐̍̌͋t̸̗͈̠̄̎̈́̉̃̐ȇ̶̢̨̡̨͕̻̲̫̠̪͍̐̃̊̎̌͑̋̕͜͝ŗ̴̡̛̪̙̭̜͙̞̳͉͉̗͆̄͒̈̑̚͝͝ ̷̧̰̫͊̌͠j̴̛̠͖̙̼̯̝̬̙̺̳̺̇͋͗̈́̒͐̐̏͆ͅo̶̝̖̹̲̜̿͑̈́b̴̩͖̓͛͋̾̉̑̃͘ ̵͕̥̯̭̣̦̱͊̀͗͌̌̅̿̀̓̏̚͠a̷̠̰̔͗̉͋́͐͊̕͝͠t̴̡̢͕̻̞̖͚̙̞̭̼̽͜ ̸̨̭̥͎͉̜̩͙̝̈́͆̆͛̅͒̋͗̒͋͘͘̚i̵̙̜̥͔̞̳̜̙̘̟͛̐̿̓͋̆̊̃͘͜m̵̪͍̮̘̮̻̙͙͓̰͖̋͑̏͛̃̐̈́̆̚͝͠p̴̡̛̥̫̞͙̥͈̞͓̩̜̣͇̦̏́͗̅̒̒̾͂̿́̄̊͠ͅr̸̺̤̿́ę̵̢͓̪̜̇͊̓s̶̨̢̹̪̝̫̹̥̞͚̱̊͋̐̈́͗̉̈̓͌̓͘͝s̷̘̉i̵̢̗͍͇̮̤̇́̈́́̈́̃̓n̸̨̪̰͇̩͖̲̙̾ġ̷̦̲̯̝̬͒̏̈̉̓͂̆̅͘ͅ ̷̲͔̗͚̜͈̗͊͊̓͒̔̈͌͂̃͝͠͝t̴̩̲́̿͑h̸͔͉̿̅̊̉̈́̓͒̑̕͝o̴̧̧̻̼̤̳̼̖̳̠̓̂͗̌̑͊̄̊̚͜͜͝ͅs̴͉̺̟͈̲͕̓͂͛̈́̍̏́͛͒͗̌̐͐̽ḙ̷̙͙̳̌̿̂̾̈̉́̄̽̃̿̿̓̀̕ͅ ̸̡̧̡̦̙͇̗̺̀̿͝I̵̛̮̘̫̪̱̲̣͙͂̍̍̄̂̍́̓̀̒̕͝ ̷̩͚̹̳̺͎͔̐͠ẅ̸̢͖͚̫͍̫̒̌͑̂̏̐̽ą̸͚̯̹̝̗̙̟͉̍͒̇̒̿̾͋ͅņ̷͈̭̖̳̟̘̰͈̻̹͕̘̰̀̑̊̃͐̈́̿̈̒̓̆͊̀͘̕t̵͙̟̮̟̗͕̟̅͒̔̉̿͌ ̷̛͔̻̤̹̹̠̬̜̉͒̋̎̂͌͌̒̂͘͝͝t̶͎̟̩̻̮̝͙̲͕̩͔͋͆͊̅̏̂̍̈́̾̌̊͝o̸̰͑͗̈͆͝ͅͅ ̸͚̰̞͔̟͍̝̟̬͔̰̣̈́̒̈́̍̏̆́̀̈̈̚̚̚͜͠ͅi̷̢̡͎̭̳̞̗̪͕̗̩̍̒͜͝ͅm̷̨̛͚͈̠̫̖̝̰͔̟̋̾̓̊̇͌͗̾̋̒̋p̷̘͌̈́̑̾̊̅́̿̄̍͊̈͊͠ṟ̵͓̮̟̹̖̪̜̃̈́̐̉̐͋͐̈́̄̿̋͊́͠e̷̡̙̹͊̈́̒̋̎̚s̵̺̲͍̺̗͖͎̪͛̇̃͊͜s̶̢̲̖̺̺͆̂͂̑̊͝.̵̨̢̨̣͚̼̞̜̹̜͎̔̾̀͂͋̓̃

"Kaito, ready to walk home?"

"Sure, just let me grab my bag."

Sayori giggles, beaming at me. 

It truly has been a while since Sayori and I have spent this much time together. 

...I've missed her.

On the way home, I can't help but mention, "Sayori...about what happened earlier..."

Sayori looks surprised. "Eh? What do you mean?"

"You know, between Yuri and Natsuki. Does that kind of thing happen often?"

"No, no, no!" Sayori says hurriedly. "That's really the first time I've seen them fight like that...I promise they're both wonderful people."

She then looks worriedly at me. "You don't...you don't hate them, do you??"

"No, I don't hate them!! I just wanted your opinion, that's all. I can see why they'd make good friends with you. Not to get all mushy, but you have a way of bringing people together."

Sayori blushes a little. "Phew. You know, Kaito, it's nice that I get to spend time with you in the club. But I think seeing you getting along with everyone makes me the happiest. And I think everyone likes you, too!"

I can feel my face flush. "That's-"

"Ehehe," Sayori giggles. "Every day is going to be so much fun!"

I let an over-dramatic sigh, linking my arm with her's. "If you say so."

"Don't be such a constant downer!" Sayori laughs, swatting at me with her free hand.

I̸̢̛̖̘̹̞̫̥͎̥͇̞͕̳͛̄͆͒̒͋̀͘͠͝ţ̷̙͎̔̎̏͑͆̓͆̀̒̃͌͘̚͘ ̵̯͇̦̫͙̥͚̫̳̮̲̺͇͒̒͒̌̈́̋̀̕l̴̨̨͙̞̘̖̱̙͙̻̺̝͙͖̱̽̈͐̉̅ŏ̷̝̤̫̹̬͛ó̵̯̥̎͛̇̊́̏̒̅̉̎̚͘k̴̢̘̯̲̰͕̳̺̣̖̙̱̃̐̔̂̌̈̾̑͛͛͝͠s̴̖̈́̅̔̆̀̊̑́̃̎̈́̒͝ ̷̝̰͇͚̰̘̥͔̬͓͚̫̇͋͋̾́̃̐̈͐̍̈́̚͜ͅl̵̲̝̟̤͓͎̣̮̘̺̹̼͆̎i̸̛̝͕̐͒͑̇̀̂͂̚ǩ̸̛̻̾̒̈́̐̐̾͂͛̒̿̚ẹ̸̓͛̑̈́̏̓̒̽͗̕ ̶̨̧̛͙͔̙̙̯̬̱̻̘͔̂̈́̅̌̀̇̽̉̀͒͐̔̉S̶̨̨̘̤͇̫̘̱̰̳̈́̓̊͂̾̈́͆͒̿͗͠͝ą̶͖̠̼̻̠̟͎̞̌͒́̍̈́̉̈́͌̉͋̔̚ỷ̵̜͍̪̝̓̈́̿͗͒̐̅͊͐̀͜ơ̵͚̻̹͕̯̭̈́̐͋̑̽̀̂͘͝r̴̢̛̺̻̻̖̘͔̠̟̱̋̽̌̆̆͒͊̉́͊̕ǐ̶̛̪͕͇̝̟͚̣̩̱͖͋̊́͗͊̐ ̶̨̡̞̠̠̲̲̮̰͚̱̘͈̿̈́̆͛͘͝s̸̼͓͉̥̼̰͇̳̰̟̠̤̑͆̏̿͆͑͆͋̎̅̚͘͜t̵̢̡̬͙̭͖̘̱͚̳̝̮͕̍̉̒̈͛̔̾̇͑̿͊͜į̶̦͇̩̠̝̯̖̥͙̱̩̰̓̑̿̓̑̉̒̚l̴̗̬̟̟̠̺͇͂͘l̵̢̘̣̱̼̯̲̦͗̎ ̴̧͉̺̦̊̅̓̎͂̓̒́͊̓h̶̡̨̗͇̞͎͍̙͈̹̖͔̺̼͐͌͊̏͊̂̈̽͘̚͝͠a̸̱͈͓͖̣̱͖̙͉̥̖̫̟̚͘͠s̷̡̡͇̤̼͔̰̰̜̪̘̖̲̒̆͜n̵̞̭̳̙͉̅̎͋͗̐̃̽͛̈̚͘͘͜͝'̸͉͇̀͛̆t̵̙̟̜͆̔͛̅̅͑͛̌̇ ̸̨͇͍̲̻̯̦͈̈́̑̈́̎͊̑͝͝͠ç̶̡̳̙͇̳̩͙̣̖̱͉̞͎̊͂͋͌̂̕͘à̶̗̯̩͉͕̯̞̳̤̦̖̫̓̏̈́̊́̋̚͘͜ų̷̬͙̮̥͍̦̥̹̹̤̱͓̞͋̈́͆͌̊̀̉̚͘͝͠ͅģ̶̡̡̬̦̻͖̱͓͖̬̹͍̗̊̽̎̊̾h̸̬̐̈́͐͑̋̄̋̀͒̇͌̍̋͠͠t̶̨̢͎̥̤͙̮̪͇̫̗̽̂͊̒̍̊̓̏͗̃̒̂̋̚ ̴̛̛͎̞̳̰̞̦̗̳͓̪̘̻͛̐̒̉̉̓̋̍̈͝͝ơ̶̢̧̪̍̔n̵̡͔̹̦̼̻̦̻̯̥̥͈̈́̐̉̊̈̐̚ẗ̴̹͓̩͔̬̀o̴̘̘̖̻̤̹͔̰͆̈́̅͛͂̄ ̴̼̘̫̗̻͎͂̅̔̄̌͘͝ț̶̡̢͓̪̰͓̉̎̀̋͒̎̔̊̀̈́ͅh̶̡̛͈̳̘͋͆͆̀̄̿͠ȩ̵̨̫͎͔̂̑̀̋̈́̔̃̊͠͝ͅ ̴̘̼̘̩̘̹̗̮̽͒͘͜s̸̲̟̰̳͛̽̃͆̚i̷̛̻̞̟̬̹͕̥͍̭̰̓͛̾̄͐͠t̷̢̼̣̭͉̮̥̰̦̖̼̗̤͍̭͛̓u̴̢̝̲͍̺͚̳̮̦͖̽̂̓̊̇̈̇̍͂͝ą̶̪̞͈̝̟̭̺̯̙̱̘̬̈̎͂͛̈̚t̷̝̜̮̰̹͚̳̱͇̻͔̯̟̊́̽͋͘ḯ̵̻̖̎̓͋͌̍͑̇́̊̈̅̎ŏ̵̺͉͖̟̼͔̩͍̐͋̈́̾n̴̢̥͌̆̆̽͗̒̏͊̇̒̑̽͊̒ ̷̨̺͓͇̰͍̽͋̃͊̓͂̏͘I̵̧̛̛̛̩̝͖̞̒́̈́̈́̋͛'̸͉̫͕͈̮̽̎̂̎̔̉͑͛̀͊̆͗͝m̵̛̬̮͚͙͔̣͌̌͒̿͐͂̋͑͘͠͝ͅͅ ̵̨̢̛̛̹͚̓̇̄͋̾̎̒̔̑̊́͐͠i̴̬̯̲̳̘̬͊́̑̄̒̇͌̾̈̕ͅn̸̡̡͈̬̖͉̱̩̠̬̲͐̓̌̈́̅̈́̐̑̿̆͒̿̚.̴̡̡̧̯̭̭̘͚̫̼͎̐͋̽͂̈́̅̆͐͊̈̇͋̚  
̶̨̝͐̄̊́̈́̈̀̑̓Ŝ̸̺͌́͌̅̕ͅư̴̢̢̻̬̤͉̜̳̜̠̳̼̯͐̊̈̋ͅȓ̷̡̜̦̗͖͓̦̲̫̹̬̣̺̲̾̈́̌͋̉͑͆̓̋̎̕ͅe̷͕̦̦̣̐̈́̂,̴̨̖̠̲̣͚̞̫̪̖͈̥͉̀̿ ̶̙̂̐̽͂b̷̨̢̡̝̮̝͈̹̞̖̤̙̒͋̊̅ͅͅė̴͈̹̦̼̪̹̫̗̪̅̌̌͂̊̇͒͆͆͠i̴̡̧̨̯̹̱͚̜̱̗̗̰͇̫̓̎̍̎̎͐̚ͅņ̸̯̘̗̮̣̳̻͂̍̽̋͂̉͊̐̓̚̚g̷̨̡͇͔͇̠̩͍̙͙̼̀̑͒͌̋̉̕͜͠͝ ̴̛̛̪̼̯͎͈̖͈̪̙̠̆͋͊͌̂͝͝ͅf̶̪͎̽̕ͅr̷̖̙̤̞̱͑̄̊̍͠į̴̧̲̤͙̯̯̖͈͂̊̑̐͆̊̓̽̄̽̔̇̋͛͝ė̸̹̤̳̖̱̻̺̹̯̤̓̓̈́̂ͅn̷̨̨̻̩̆̏̈́͋͂̽̓̍̉d̸̨̛̝͎͛͌͌̌͑̽s̵̛̱̜̪̙̘͕͖͗͒̂͂̎́̌̈́̃̈́͝͠ ̷̨̨̯̪̲̝̼̩͓̠̲̇̏͑̚w̵̛͕͔͇͎̲͓̠̯̮̲̬̫̫̿̅̃͜ͅĭ̸̢͓̯̻͖͇͔͇̜̤̪̹͆̑̉͂͗̾̒̓̚͜͠ͅt̸̨̢̛͖͙͓̤̖̖̙͈̣̪̮͔̄͌̿̒̏̅̂͗̓̑̈́̊̚h̸̢̧̞̮̣̖̤̺͍́̌ ̷̜̿͋̿̍͝ḛ̷̙̗͈̰͋͐̈̂̚v̷̡̛̱̪̰͈̹̫͍̪͍̝̜̆͐̏̉͘͝ḛ̴̬̠̯͎̰̏͆͒̽̒̈́̂̎͆͌̓͘͝͠͠ŗ̷̼̜̳͎̹̗̼̠̪̥̭̺̽ͅy̴̩̹̩͈͕͂̔͂͛́o̵̟̓̿́̈́͌͑͐͠͠n̵̘̾͂̒͒͊̿̕e̸͙̬̹̥̾͋̈́͗̄̑͗̏̑͋͌̏͌ͅͅ ̴͔͒̅̋͑̓̊̈́͜í̵͇̐̈̀̃͊̅̓̚š̸̹̱̪̔͋͛̽ ̷̫͎̯͓̮̱̒̑̓̈̈͝͠ṅ̶̦͚̻̯͖̦͙̘̝̖͑̐̂͒̏̈́̒̆̕͝͝î̶̧̟̜̺̳̞͇̫̙c̵̛̝͉͖̞̲̙̾͐͂͌̋ͅe̶͍̖̖̋̌̒̋͌̀͋̆̑̈́͋̚͘,̵̢̞̹͎͎͎̻̼̭̽̒̽̉̍̿̓̉̊̎̀̊̊͝ ̷͈̠͕̓̑̿͌̎̒͗b̵̧̙̖̭͍͖̤̦̳̠̹̋̆͛̀̉̕ư̷͇̲͂́̈͑̏̅̌͂͒͘ͅt̷̛̘̮͍͙̳̠̤̖̦͍̘̝̑̄̽́͂̍͛̋̎͂͊͗̚.̸̪̽͜.̸̖͇̻̾̎̑̅͂̔͑͗̾͑̌̄̈͘.̶̭̼͙̝͉̝̙͒̋͋ͅͅ  
̵̛̭̻̉̍͋͒͊̎͑́̆̕͘͠͠.̷̧̨̧̠͙̺͔̐̅̈́̌̇̏̀̓̉.̵̨̯͉̼̳̥̫͎̔̎̓͌̎̉̔͑̃̔̎̄̊͝͝ͅ.̶̧̡̗̮̗̟̘͇͙̖̟̠̑̇̈́͌̐̈́̋̎̇̽̿D̸̘͇̣̰̗͊͌̆̾̈́͘ȯ̷͓̭̥̰̳̘̜͌̍̓e̴̘̦̟͙̥̲̹͇̣͆̒̑̆̇̔͒̎͆͠ş̶̠̭͈͙̠̹̫̺̗̻̥̔̐̅̈́̎̃ͅ ̴̢̣͚̻͉͉̩̯̇̎̄̓̑̒̑̋͝į̶̨͚̝̳̼͖͖̯̂͗̈́̓̅͒̏̀̌̒͘t̸̨̛̮̹̰̺̝̥̊͂͌̌̽͆̾͐̌̚͝ ̴̭͔̲̩̹̼͎̪̤̥͖̆͂̿̅͒̓͊̅͘̕r̴̮͔͉̳̱̗̠͈͉̊̂͂̉͒̃͗̐́e̴͕̰̘͇͂͂͛a̸̹̒̀͂̈́͊̕l̶̡̜̪̹̪̭̪̞̖͒̈́̍͊́͐̔̋͘͝͝l̶̛̖̦͗̏̈́̾̌̔̈̂̊͘͜ÿ̸̢̨̱͇̝̜̖͚̗͈́͛̈͗̾́ ̸̨͔̳̣̗̙͓̯̜͈͖̺̹̊̈́͗̅͒̍̔͐͂̾̾̚͠n̴̡̠̪̭̹͖̗͔̫̗̹̓̐̔̄̓͑̉̎̂̉̀̒̚ͅe̶̬͙͈̟̳͇̤͎̳̮̹̯̣̍͌̑̔̌͑́̒̏̂̚͜͜e̶̛̛̛̪͚͙̎͑͒̈́̅̂͌̇͝ḑ̵̛̳̬͉̳̥̼͖͑̾̌͛̓̈̍̈́͛̚ ̸̛̦͓̣͔̰̃̀͋̇̆̂͑̃͆̆̉̆̈́ͅt̶̢̧̳͓͎̰̗͔̼͈̜͈̘̑̓̏̈̀̈̑̈̍͜͝͠o̶̧̧̝̗͆͂̈́ ̴̨̢̠̻͙̞̲̳͎̝͎͍͚͋̿͜͠ṣ̵̘̟̈́̄̉̄̍̇̌͗̐̋͘͝͝t̷̢͍̘̠͇̱̰̳͆̓͘͝͝o̸͎̫̅̾̃̇̕ͅp̶̡̛͈̩͉͚̲̼̜̝̠̓͠͠ͅ ̴̨̡̟͇̼̌̑t̵̢̡̥̪͈͓̥̹͠h̴͇̞͕̼͛̅͋̌̒̅ë̵̳̬̱͓͈̩͔̹͕̾̈͐͂͐̉̒̚͜͝r̷̢̞̪̯̺͔̯̭̜̾̈́̎̾͋̈́́͂͜͝ͅȅ̸̘̠̱̖̞̃̃̓̒̉̾͐͜͠͠?̴̢̨̘̘̤̞̘͕͎̜̉̆̓̊̅

"We'll see what the future holds, Sayori," I say. "In the meantime, I think I'm going to have to take a nap when I get back home. My head is starting to hurt."

"Okay! Remember to take some aspirin and drink lots of water!"

"Will do."

***Save**

"...I see. Well, let's read it, then."

_**Hole in Wall** _

_It couldn't have been me._  
 _See, the direction the spackle protrudes._  
 _A noisy neighbor? An angry boyfriend? I'll never know. I wasn't home._  
 _I peer inside for a clue._  
 _No! I can't see. I reel, blind, like a film left out in the sun._  
 _But it's too late. My retinas._  
 _Already scorched with a permanent copy of the meaningless image._  
 _It's just a little hole. It wasn't too bright._  
 _It was too deep._  
 _Stretching forever into everything._  
 _A hole of infinite choices._  
 _I realize now, that I wasn't looking in._  
 _I was looking out._  
 _And he, on the other side, was looking in_.

"Hmm...it's very freeform...if that's what you call it. Sorry, I'm not the best person to talk about for feedback."

"Aha...it's okay. Yeah, that style has gotten pretty popular nowadays. That is, a lot of poems have been putting emphasis on the timing between words and lines. When performed out loud, it can be really powerful."

"What was the inspiration behind this one?"

"Ah...well, I'm not sure if I know how to put it. I guess you could say that I had some kind of epiphany lately. It's been influencing my poems a bit."

"An epiphany?"

"Yeah... something like that. I'm kind of nervous to talk about deep stuff like that, because it's kind of coming on strongly...maybe after everyone is better friends with each other. Anyway...here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Sometimes when you're writing a poem-or story-your brain gets too fixated on a specific point...if you try so hard to make it perfect, then you'll never make any progress. Just force to get something down on the paper, and tidy it up later!

Another way to think about it is this: If you keep your pen in the same spot for too long, you'll just get a big dark puddle of ink. So just move your hand and go with the flow!"

"...Thanks?"

"...That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening!"

***Save**


	4. The Raven and the Writing Desk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a third save file, Yuri and Kaito read Yuri's favorite book together.

***Load**

Well, I'm back at the Literature Club; since I was the last to come in, everyone's already hanging out.

"Hi again, Kaito!" Monica says cheerfully. With a wink, she adds, "Glad to see you didn't run away on us. Hahahaha!"

I smile weakly at her. "Of course I wouldn't...after all, I'm a _terrible_ runner. Besides, even though this whole thing is a little strange, I always keep my word. Most of the time, anyway."

Yuri, getting up from a nearby chair, walks over to Monika and I. "Thanks for keeping your promise, Kaito," Yuri says gently. "I hope this isn't too much of a commitment for you. Making you dive headfirst into literature when you're not accustomed to it..."

Scoffing, Natsuki makes her way to the front of the room. "Oh, come on! He doesn't deserve any slack. Sayori told me you didn't even want to join any clubs this year."

I can feel my face starting to flush.

"And last year too!" Natsuki continues, jabbing her finger near my face. "I don't know if you plan to just come here and hang out, or what...but if you don't take us seriously, then you won't see the end of it."

Monika gently pushes Natuski's hand away, placing herself between us both. "Natsuki, you certainly have a big mouth for someone who keeps her manga collection in the clubroom."

Natsuki's scowl grows deeper. "M-M-M...!" 

I'm not sure, but I think she's stuck between saying "Monika" and "Manga".

"Manga is literature!!" Natsuki grumbles, stomping back to her seat.

"Don't worry, guys," Sayori interjects. "Kaito always gives it his best as long as he's having fun. He helps me with busywork without me even asking. Like cooking, cleaning my room..."

"How dependable," Yuri says admirably.

"Not really. I kind of get antsy when everything's messy. As for the cooking...well, let's just say that when left to her own devices, Sayori has a high chance of burning her house down. Besides, we have a system."

Sayori nods enthusiastically. "Yep! I help Kaito out with his English homework, and he gives me an ice cream sandwich! Sometimes he even buys one for me even if I don't do his homework for him- I mean, help him out."

Both Yuri and Monika giggle. 

"You two are really good friends, aren't you?" Yuri says more than asks. "I might be a little jealous..."

Sayori grabs her arm. "Don't worry, I'm sure you and Kaito can become close friends, too!"

Yuri flushes, looking away from us both.

Letting go of Yuri's arm, Sayori bounces a little on her toes. "Oh, oh! And Yuri even brought you something today!"

"W-wait! Sayori..." Yuri mumbles to the ground, "I..."

"Don't be shy!" Sayori encourages.

This, however, only makes Yuri seem to clam up even more. After a few seconds, she stutters out, "I-it r-r-really isn't a b-big deal. Sayori made it sound like a big deal when it really isn't..."

Sayori looks confused...and a little stricken. "Eh? I'm sorry, Yuri, I wasn't thinking..."

_I guess that means it's up to me to rescue this situation?_

_Um..._

_Well..._

"Don't worry about it," I tell Yuri. "I wasn't expecting anything in the first place, so I'm happy with whatever you give me. No big deal."

"Well," Yuri begins, "here you go." Reaching into her bag, she pulls out a book. "I didn't want you to feel left out...so I picked a book I thought you might enjoy. It's a short read, so it should keep your attention. And we could...if you wanted to...discuss it together?"

I enthusiastically take the offered book.

"Yuri, thanks for the book! It means a lot that you got this for me...um, I know I said I wouldn't make a big deal of this...anyway, it would be great to talk about the book together."

"Phew...well, you can read it at your own pace. I look forward to hearing what you think."

***Save**

***Load**

Now that everyone's settled in, I expect Monika to kick off some scheduled activities for the club. But that doesn't seem the case- Sayori and Monika are having a cheerful conversation in the corner, and Yuri's face is already buried in a book.

I can't but notice her intense expression, like she was waiting for this chance all along.

Meanwhile, Natsuki is rummaging around in the closet.

I'm really curious to talk to Yuri a little more...but at the same time, I would feel bad for distracting her while she's reading.

I catch a glimpse of the cover of the book, it looks like the same book she lent to me...more than that, she seems to be on the first few pages. Just as I'm about to look away, Yuri lifts her head, and our eyes meet. Almost immediately, I can feel my face starting to flush with embarrassment at being caught staring. 

"Sorry...I was just spacing out..." I mumble, trying not to make things more awkward. 

"Oh...it's fine," Yuri reassures me with a small smile. "If I was focused, then I probably wouldn't have noticed in the first place. But I'm just re-reading a bit of this, so..."

"That's the book you gave me, right?" I ask, gesturing towards the book.

Yuri nods, humming a little to herself. "Mmh...I wanted to re-read some of it." Face suddenly turning beetroot red, she blurts out, "But not for any particular reason...!"

"Just curious, how come you have two copies of the same book? Actually, now that I say it out loud, the idea seems pretty sound. Not only can you...wait, I was about to go on a tangent. Um..."

"That's okay," Yuri says, face still flushed. "Well, when I went to the bookstore yesterday-ah, that's not what I meant...I mean...I just happened to buy two of them."

"I think I might start doing that, actually. Sayori has a habit of borrowing stuff from me and losing it somewhere in her room. Honestly, I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before...well, thanks for giving me this book."

"It's a very enjoyable read," Yuri tells me. "Once it starts to pick up, you might have a hard time putting it down. It's a very engaging and relatable story."

"Is that so? Um...without giving too much away, can you tell me a little bit about the book?"

Yuri closes her copy, turning it over to the back, quickly reading the synopsis. 

"Hmm..."

"Hmm?"

"Oh! I just wanted to make sure I don't accidentally give anything away. Basically, it's about this girl in high school who moves in with her long-lost younger sister...but as soon as she does so, her life gets really strange. She gets targeted by these people who escaped from a human experimental prison...and while her life is in danger, she needs to desperately choose who to trust. No matter what she does, she ends up destroying most of her relationships and her life starts to fall apart..."

Huh.

Yuri made it sound like it was going to be a nice story, so that dark turn came out of nowhere.

"Are you not a fan of that sort of thing, Kaito?"

I shrug. "I don't get scared easily, and I like watching horror movies...so I'll be alright...but if I'm not, you're going to have to pay for my therapy bills, deal?"

Now that she knows I'm not serious about that kind of stuff, Yuri giggles.

it's kind of funny, though...Yuri's so shy and reclusive on the outside, but her mind seems to be completely different. 

"It's just that those kind of stories," Yuri begins, "they challenge you to look at life from a strange new perspective. When horrible things happen not just because someone wants to be evil...but because they have their own goals, or their own philosophy that they believe in. Then suddenly, when you thought you related to the protagonist...they're made out to be the naive one for letting their one-sided morals interfere with the villain's plans."

Yuri pauses. "I'm...I'm rambling again, aren't I? Not again...I'm sorry." 

"Hey, don't apologize...you're talking to the king of rambling right here. But even if I wasn't, you're a genuinely interesting person, Yuri."

She doesn't look particularly convinced. "Well...I guess it's alright, then...but I feel like I should let you know that I have this problem...when I let books and writing fill my thoughts...I kind of forget to pay attention to other people...so I'm sorry if I end up saying something strange! And please stop me if I'm talking too much!"

"That's- I really don't think you need to worry...that just means you're passionate about reading. The least I can do is listen. It's a literature club, after all."

"Ah- well, that's true," Yuri admits.

"In fact, I might as well get started reading it, right?"

"Y-you don't have to!" Yuri blurts out, face crimson. 

"That's okay, I want to."

I gesture to the desk next to hers. "Is it alright if I sit here?"

When Yuri doesn't respond, I slid into the chair. She startles a little. "Ah-"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to move? Don't worry, it won't hurt my feelings."

"No...I'm fine. It's just...not something I'm used to...that is, reading in company with someone."

"That makes sense. Let me know if I end up distracting you or anything."

"A-alright."

I open the book and start the prologue. Quickly, I get what Yuri meant about reading in company- it's as though I can feel her presence over my shoulder as I read.

It's not a particularly bad feeling...it's just...different.

Maybe a little distracting, but the feeling is somewhat comforting. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that Yuri isn't actually looking at her own book.

I glance over. Huh, it looks like she's reading from my book instead-

"S-sorry!" Yuri stammers, "I was just-!"

"Yuri, you really apologize a lot, don't you?"

"I...do? I don't really mean to...sorry."

When she says sorry for the second time, her face goes beet red. "I mean-"

"I have an idea," I quickly interrupt. Before Yuri can say anything else, I slide my desk until it's close enough to touch Yuri's, then hold my book more between the two of them. "Is this good? Let me know if you think it's weird."

"I-it's fine."

Once we each lean in a little bit, our shoulders are almost touching. My left arm feels like it's in the way, so I use my right hand to hold the book open. 

Hang on a second...

"I guess that makes it a little tricky to turn the page," I admit. "Probably should have thought this through a little more."

"Here..." Yuri says, using her left hand to hold the left side of the book between her thumb and forefinger. 

I mirror her, using my right hand to hold the right side of the book between my thumb and forefinger. "Good idea."

That way, I turn a page, and Yuri slides it under her thumb after it flips to her side. 

In doing so, however, we've inched together even closer.

"...Are you ready to turn the page?" Yuri asks.

I can feel my face flushing as I respond, "Oh! I'm sorry! I guess I got distracted..." 

Glancing over at her, our eyes meet for a second. "Ah...you're not used to reading, right? I don't mind being patient if it takes you a little longer...it's probably the least I can do, seeing as you've been so patient with me."

"T-thanks."

We continue reading; Yuri no longer asks me to turn the page, instead, I just assume that she finishes the page before me, so I turn it when I'm ready to move on.

"You know, this may be a little silly thought, but the main character reminds me of you a little bit."

"Y-you think so? How is she?" Yuri asks hesitantly.

"Well, in some ways she's more blunt than you...but she also second-guesses everything she says and does. Like she's afraid of doing something wrong. It's not like I can see into your head or anything, but...you seem like someone who thinks things over for a while before saying them. Someone who has a lot of important things to say."

Yuri remains silent for a moment. 

"I'm sorry if I said something awkward," I say sheepishly. 

"No, it's just-"

"Okay, everyone!" Monika cheerfully interrupts, "I think it's about time we share today's poems with each other. We might not have enough time if we wait too long."

"Ah-" Yuri exhales, clearly spared from having to continue talking.

"Is everything okay, Yuri?" Monika asks, green eyes widening in concern. "You look kind of down...I'm sorry if you hadn't be looking forward to this..."

"Ah, it's not...it's fine," Yuri says quietly, releasing her hand from the book. 

"I'll read more of this tonight," I tell Yuri. "I think I'll be able to get at least a chapter done. But...would it be alright if we read like this tomorrow as well?"

"That sounds lovely."

***Save**


	5. interlude #1: the emails

**To: djcat@webmail.com**

**Subject: questions about mod**

Hey, I just started playing the game, and I noticed something odd. When I got to the fight scene between Yuri and Natsuki, two of the buttons were corrupted, and I could only choose one.

Other than that, the mod is working perfectly :D

-K

**Reply To: submarine45@webmail.com**

**Subject Re: questions about mod**

Don't worry, that's not a bug. The idea is that you can choose an option, but Kaito has the final say in the decision making. 

-P

**Reply To: djcat@webmail.com**

**Subject Re Re: questions about mod**

Does this mean that there's really only one choice at a time? Because I really want to get the good ending, and I have to choose a side in order to get it. 

As a side note, why can't I choose my own name? 

-K

**Reply To: submarine45@webmail.com**

**Subject Re Re Re: questions about mod**

Don't worry, everything will soon make sense. How far have you gotten?

-P

**Reply To: djcat@webmail.com**

**Subject Re Re Re Re: questions about mod**

I stopped right at the end of the first poetry reading.

-K

**Reply To: submarine45@webmail.com**

**Subject Re Re Re Re Re: questions about mod**

Think of this as part of a mystery :D

It'll all make sense soon- I have a plan on where this is going. 

-P


	6. Cookies and Crayons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayori and Kaito go on an adventure.

***Load**

"Kaito, do you have any of those fruit bars?" Sayori asks. 

"Maybe..." I check my bag, but all I can find are some empty wrappers. "No, looks like you ate them all. Sorry."

Instead of getting upset, Sayori noticeably perks up. "Well, seeing as you don't have any fruit bars...you must be hungry, too! Want to come with me and buy a snack?"

I shake my head. "Nope."

Sayori startles, clearly taken aback. "Eh?? T-that's not like you at all!!!"

I let out a deep sigh. "Sayori, I have my reasons. First of all, I'm not hungry. Second...well, why don't you show me your purse, Sayori?"

"Eh? Why that...all of a sudden?" Sayori whimpers, eyes wide. She's playing innocent, but I've been her friend for too long for me to fall for her tricks.

"No reason," I say in my most casual tone ever, "I just wanted to take a look at it."

Sweat beading on her forehead, Sayori nervously retrieves her coin purse. After fumbling with the latch for a moment, she turns the bag upside-down, letting the contents spill out onto the desk. Just as I suspected, only two coins fall out.

"A-hahaha..." Sayori giggles nervously. 

I roll my eyes. "Sayori, you know I can see right through you."

"That's not fair!" Sayori says with a pout. "How did you even know?"

"It's simple. If you had enough money to buy a snack in the first place, you would have done so before coming the the club. So, either you're not hungry and wanted an excuse to take a walk...or you planned to conveniently forget that you spent all your money, so that I would lend you some!"

"M-maybe I just wanted to take a walk?"

"Sayori, you literally asked me for one of my fruit bars just a minute ago. Besides, even if you didn't ask for a fruit bar, you're always hungry!"

"Uwa!" Sayori wails. "I give up! Don't make me feel guiltyyy!"

"Sayori, if you feel guilty, that means you deserve to feel guilty."

Yuri, nose buried deeply in a book, suddenly giggles.

I hadn't known she'd been listening in...

"Ah!" Yuri gasps, face flushing, "I wasn't listening or anything-! It was just...something in my book..."

"Yuuuri, tell Kaito to let me borrow some money..." Sayori pleads.

"That's- don't get me involved like that, Sayori..." Yuri pauses, before saying in a much more firm voice, "Besides, you should only buy what you can responsibly afford...and frankly, after trying to pull a stunt like that...your suffering is a fair enough retribution."

Sayori giggles a little, and Yuri flushes bright red.

"Did I...Ah! I didn't mean that! I got too absorbed in my book..."

"That's okay, Yuri!" Sayori cheerfully responds. "I really like it when you speak your mind! It doesn't happen much, but it's a fun side of you!"

"That's..." Yuri begins, "there's no way you could think that..."

"You were right, though," Sayori admits. "I did something bad, and now I have to accept the revolution."

"Retribution," Yuri gently corrects.

"That!"

"Still," Yuri continues, "coming from you, Sayori...I guess there's all a little devil inside all of us, isn't there?"

"Ehehehe.." Sayori giggles innocently. 

"Don't let her fool you," I warn Yuri. "She's always a step ahead of everyone. After all, she told you guys she was bringing me to the club before she even told me..."

"B-but...!" Sayori weakly protests, "You wouldn't have come if it weren't for the cupcakes...so I had to trick Natsuki into making them!"

I roll my eyes. "See, Yuri? You can't trust her one bit."

"Ehehe..." Sayori giggles.

_Pwap!_

ut of nowhere, something bounces off Sayori's forehead onto the desk in front of her.

"Kyaa-!" Sayori yelps in surprise and pain. "Ow..." she says pitifully, rubbing her forehead, "what was-!"

Sayori suddenly gasps in surprise, staring down at the thrown object.

"Woah! A-a cookie!" Sayori breathes, picking it up reverently.

Sure enough, it's a giant cookie wrapped in plastic. Sayori glances around, then up at the ceiling. "I-is this a miracle?? Have I paid my restitution?"

"Retribution..." I correct.

Yuri shrugs. "Actually, that one almost worked..."

"Ahahaha!" Natsuki laughs. She's standing in the doorway, eyes twinkling with mischief. "I _was_ just gonna give it to you," she says, gesturing to Sayori, "but then I heard you blab about the cupcakes. It was totally worth your reaction, though!"

"N-Natsuki!" Sayori gasps, "That's so nice of you!"

"You have a good throwing arm, too," I comment. "Excellent aim as well."

Sayori hugs the cookie to her chest. "I'm so happy..."

Natsuki looks pleased, as well as slightly embarrassed. "Jeez," she scoffs, "just eat the thing..."

Sayori rapidly tears open the wrapper and takes a big bite. "Sho good...Mmph!" Crumbs fly everywhere as Sayori suddenly clasps her hands to her mouth. Quickly swallowing, Sayori whimpers, "I bit my tongue..."

"Ehehe.." Natsuki giggles, pulling out a cookie of her own and taking a bite. "You're going through a lot for just one cookie."

Sayori perks up. "Ah, your cookie looks really good too, Natsuki! Can I try it?"

"Jeez..." Natsuki scoffs, "beggars can't be choosers!"

"But yours is chocolate..."

"Yeah, why do you think I gave you that one?"

"Fine..." Sayori takes another big bite of her cookie. "Still," she continues, getting out of her seat, "I'm really happy that you shared this one with me..."

Now that she's behind Natsuki, Sayori wraps her arms around the other girl. Natsuki squirms in her arms, flushing beetroot red. "Sheesh," Natsuki mutters, "I get it, I get it." Cookie still in hand, Natsuki reaches up to nudge Sayori off of her.

With that, Sayori strikes. Leaning down, she takes a bite out of Natsuki's cookie. _"...Om."_

"H-hey!" Natsuki yelps. "Did you seriously just do that?!"

Mouth full, Sayori trots away to safety.

Yuri and I laugh as well.

"Looks like Sayori the Food Thief strikes again," I comment. "You can never be too careful around her. Lock up your cookies, cupcakes, and candy bars, because she's coming for them all!"

"Jeez!" Natsuki huffs, "You're such a kid sometimes! Monika, can you tell Sayori-"

Stopping short, Natsuki glances around the room. I look around as well, and realize something I should have already noticed- Monika is not here. 

"Ugh..." Natsuki groans, hands on her hips, "where's Monika, anyway?"

"Good question," Yuri says, looking a little concerned. "Have any of you heard about her being late today?"

Sayori shakes her head. "Not me..."

"Yeah, I haven't either," I tell them. 

Yuri hums thoughtfully to herself. "Hm...that's a bit unusual."

"I hope she's okay," Sayori whimpers.

Natsuki scoffs. "Of course she's okay. She probably just had something else to do today. She's pretty popular, after all..."

Sayori startles. "Eh? You don't think she...she has a...!"

Though she doesn't finish her sentence, everyone knows what she's trying to say.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Yuri says with a wistful smile. "She's probably more desirable than all of us combined."

Sayori giggles to herself. "Ehehe...that's true."

Natsuki scowls. "Excuse me???"

"Don't worry, Natsuki," I say with a grin, "if you take me out of the equation, the desirability points of your group go up."

The shorter girl rolls her eyes. "Gross."

Suddenly, the door swings open. "Sorry," Monika hurriedly says, "I'm super sorry!"

"It's cool," I tell her.

"I didn't mean to be late..." Monika says apologetically, "I hope you guys weren't worried or anything!"

Sayori bounces up and down in excitement. "Eh??? Monika chose the club over her boyfriend after all! You're so strong-willed!"

"B-boyfriend...?" Monika stammers, clearly at a loss for words. "What on Earth are you talking about?" When she glances over to me, I just shrug. 

"So, um...what held you up, anyway?" I ask.

"Ah..." Monika begins. "Well...my last period today was study hall. To be honest, I kind of just lost track of time..."

"That makes no sense, though," Natsuki argues, "you would have heard the bell ring, at least."

"I must have not heard it, since I was practicing piano..."

"Piano...?" Yuri asks. "I wasn't aware you played a musical instrument as well, Monika."

Monika laughs a little. "Ah, I don't, really...! I kind of just started recently. I've always wanted to learn piano."

"That's so cool!" Sayori praises. "Hey, remember when you had those clarinet lessons, Kaito?"

I groan. "Don't remind me."

Turning to Monika, Sayori says, "You should play for us one day, Monika!"

"Maybe once I get better, I will."

"Yay!"

"That sounds pretty cool," I tell Monika. "I'd also look forward to it."

"Is that so...?" Monika begins, looking straight at me. "In that case...I won't let you down, Kaito."

She smiles sweetly at me.

"Ah...I didn't mean to pressure you or anything."

Monika giggles. "Ahaha...don't worry. I've been practicing a whole lot recently. And I'd really love the chance to share once I'm ready."

"I see...well, in that case, best of luck."

"Thanks! So, I didn't miss anything, did I?"

I shrug. "No, not really."

It looks like everyone has already settled down.

Not to my surprise, Sayori has already finished eating her cookie. 

Yuri is back to her book, and Natsuki has disappeared into the closet. 

Sayori cheerfully skips over to me. "Kaito! Kaito! I'm going to get supplies from another classroom. Want to come with me?"

"Supplies? What for?"

"Well, you know how the festival is coming up? Me and Monika were going to make some posters and stuff. So I need to find some crayons, and markers, and glue sticks..."

"I see. You need the help of my awesome manly muscles to help out," I joke.

Sayori giggles. "So, do you want to come?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Yay! Hey Monika," Sayori calls, "we'll be back soon!"

Monika smiles. "Ah, are you going with Kaito to get the supplies? There's no need to trouble yourself. I'd be happy to go with him."

Sayori pouts. "Awww...I wanted to go with him. It's so much fun exploring empty classrooms and stuff..."

"Hehe," Monika giggles. "Okay, okay. It was just a suggestion. See if you can find poster paper too, okay?"

Sayori nods. "Okay! Ready, Kaito?"

"Yep, let's go."

Sayori and I exit the clubroom. I follow behind as Sayori hums and skips around the hallway. Honestly...it feels like I'm taking a kid to the mall or something. Sayori finds pleasure in the simplest things sometimes; when I'm around her, the world seems just a little bit brighter. 

"Hey, Sayori? What exactly are we doing for the festival, anyway? I'm not sure how you would make an event out of literature..."

"Ehehe!" Sayori giggles. "Me and Monika have it all planned out! Don't you worry!"

"Is that so...?"

"Yep! We're going to do a poetry performance!"

"A performance...? Of what kind?"

"Well..." Sayori begins, "everyone's going to take turns on stage...and recite their favorite poems!"

"Ah..."

That sounds a little dull. 

Sayori playfully swats me on the arm. "Kaito! You're not thinking about it the right way at all! It's not just about reading poems...it's about performing them! Like, you say the lines of the poem like..." 

Sayori clears her throat. " _Between my feet...The last remaining flower beckons to me. I twist the stem, freeing it from its clinging roots...Caressing the final joyous moment between my fingers. But to what ends have I summoned this joy? For now when I look in every direction...The once prosperous field before me...Is but a barren wasteland!"_

Sayori bows. "Like that!"

"Hmm...that's pretty good. It's just kind of weird, seeing you like this."

"Eh?" Sayori pouts, "You meanie! I'm working super hard on this, you know!"

"Ah, I know, I know!" I quickly back-peddle. "I just meant that it's a pretty unordinary contrast compared to how you usually act."

"How do I usually act?"

"You know...cute and stuff."

"Ahaha!" Sayori giggles. "Don't say that, it's embarrassing! But I guess it means I'm doing a good job."

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"Aah! I'm so excited! The festival is going to be so much fun!" 

Sayori spins herself around in the hallway again. "Oh! Hey, Kaito, the classroom here is empty! Let's begin the mission!"

"The mission, eh..."

I begin humming the tune from a popular spy movie. 

Sayori giggles. 

It's been a long time since I've spent time with Sayori like this. But in the end, she hasn't changed one bit. Sayori's nothing but a ball of sunshine, drawing happy vibes from the world around her. Being with her...it's a pretty nostalgic feeling for me. 

As the years went by, I began to hole myself up in my room more and more; going on an adventure with Sayori brings about a special sort of feeling I forgot I had in me.

The two of us enter the classroom. Sayori heads to the closet, and I follow. 

"Let's see what we have here..." Sayori hums thoughtfully, pulling open the door. "Crayons!" 

Sure enough, there's a big box of crayons sitting on one of the shelves. Sayori eagerly grabs the box. "They're the best brand, too! They're kind of dirty, though..."

Sayori starts pulling various crayons out of the box, reading the color names. 

"We can just take the whole box with us, Sayori. Don't get distracted, we need to find-"

"Wait, I'm looking for my favorite color..." 

I sigh. "Well, at least move aside so I can look for some poster paper."

"Ah, I dropped one by accident-"

_Smack!_

Bending down to grab the crayon, Sayori smacks her forehead right into the shelf. "Kya-!"

She falls to the floor, and the crayons spill all over her lap. 

"Owowowowow..."

"You okay?"

"My forehead..." Sayori whimpers, clutching her forehead.

"Here, lemme check for brain damage."

Since Sayori is sitting on the floor, I grab her by the waist and pull her out of the closet. 

"You have to move your hands, Sayori..."

"But it hurts..." Sayori sniffles. 

"Just do it for a second, okay?"

Sayori slowly releases her hands from her forehead, and I gently brush her bangs to the side. 

"Ow-!" Sayori cries out, tears welling in her eyes. 

"Sorry..."

There's a huge red mark in the center of her forehead. A bump is starting to form, as well. 

"Man, that's going to swell up. I think there's only one thing to do, Sayori."

Sayori winces. "What's that?"

"Amputation. You can live without the top of your head, right?"

Sayori starts to giggle, but quickly stops, hissing in pain. "Ow...it's hurts to laugh."

"I'll get you some ice...actually, I'm not sure where I'll find ice around here. I guess I'll get you a cold drink, instead."

"Kaito, you don't have to...I'm fine looking like a unicorn-"

"Ahaha, what are you saying? Don't worry, I'll be right back."

I pat Sayori on the shoulder and run out into the hallway. Locating the nearest vending machine, I get her some apple juice and a cookie. 

I return quickly back to the classroom, prizes in hand. 

Sayori has one palm on her forehead, and is using the other hand to clumsily scoop crayons back into the box. "At least they were already in the wrong spots before I spilled them..." she mutters to herself.

"Here you go, Sayori." I hand her the apple juice. 

"It's nice and cold..." Sayori breathes.

Instead of putting the bottle against her head, she opens the cap and begin drinking from it.

"Sayori, what are you doing? That's for your forehead, idiot!" 

Sayori smiles. "Sorry, I forgot..."

Screwing the cap back on, Sayori places the bottle against the bump on her head. "It stings..." she whimpers.

"Just bear with it, it'll feel better soon. Looks like you cleaned up most of the crayons, so that's good."

"Hey, Kaito," Sayori begins, "this kind of reminds you of growing up, doesn't it...?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"You know we used to play outside all of the time...I would always try and keep up with you. You were kind of oblivious in some ways...like I'd usually fall behind or had trouble climbing on the things you did...but sometimes when I tried to do things I couldn't, I would get myself hurt."

Sayori lets out a deep sigh. "I'd fall and scrape myself, or get a bump...and I would start crying really hard. You would always rush over as quick as you could. You would try really hard to get me to stop crying. It was almost like you blamed yourself and were afraid of getting in trouble if someone found out...even though it wasn't your fault at all, you know?"

"A lot of times it _was_ my fault, though. Remember when I convinced you that we could climb that tree in your backyard? We ended up falling, and you broke your arm."

"So did you! But I didn't know it at the time, because you were too busy trying to make me feel better."

"I deserved the broken arm. You didn't."

Sayori smiles. "I don't think you realize it, but you're always thinking about other people. Even after all these years...you're rushing to help me, even though I'm just being clumsy. You're really a sweetheart..."

"D-don't call me that! And I don't really do this kind of thing all the time...I guess when it comes to you, it just feels natural. I guess that's what happens when you've been friends for so long."

"Really? Maybe you're right..." Sayori says thoughtfully. "Kaito...I'm so glad nothing's changed between us. Do you think it'll be like this forever?"

"You can't get rid of me this easy, you goof."

"I'm so happy..."

We remain in silence for a moment. 

Sayori's usually so silly and clumsy on the outside that when I see her deep in thought like this...

"Oh, by the way, I got you a cookie."

Immediately, Sayori brightens up. "Thank you, Kaito!"

"The machine was out of chocolate, but they did have one with chocolate chips."

Sayori takes the cookie. "I like chocolate chip! Anyway, we better head back. I don't want Monika to worry."

"She's going to see your forehead either way," I tell Sayori. 

"Not if I hide it under my bangs!" 

Sayori hops to her feet, before crying out in pain. "Aah!" 

She clutches her forehead again. 

"Don't stand up too fast after hurting yourself!"

"Uuu..." Sayori whimpers.

I swing my arm over her shoulder. "I guess it can't be helped. Here, lean on me."

"It's okay," Sayori says bravely. "I'm good standing on my own."

"Alright," I tell her, releasing Sayori from my grasp. "Just let me know if you feel lightheaded, alright?"

"...Okay."

"Anyway, let's go."

***Save**

As we walk back to the clubroom, Sayori plays with her bangs in an attempt to hide the bump. it's unlikely Monika won't notice the injury, but I don't say anything to Sayori about it.

In a moment, we make it back to the clubroom, where Monika is waiting by the door with a sweet smile. "Ah, you're back! Good timing, I was just about to start with sharing our poems."

Catching a glimpse of Sayori's injury, Monika's smile turns into a worried frown. "Eh? Sayori, your forehead...are you alright?"

"I was playing with the crayons and I smacked my forehead into the shelf!" Sayori cheerfully explains. "At first, Kaito suggested amputation, but then he got me some apple juice and a cookie, instead!"

"...Well, anyway!" Monika says after a brief pause, "Were you able to find everything we needed?"

"Uh-huh! I have it all right-" Sayori stops, frantically searching herself. "I forgot all the stuff!"

"Don't worry, I got everything right here," I tell Sayori. "I also got the poster paper."

"Ahahaha!" Monika giggles. "Sounds like you ended up doing most of the work, Kaito."

"Well, Sayori made it an adventure."

"Yeah!"

"Ahaha...okay, okay. In any case, good work! I'll start working on the posters tonight."

"Me too!"

"Okay, everyone!" Monika calls out, "Are you ready to share your poems?"

"I guess so," I say with a shrug. 

Ẅ̷̩̘̹̖̦̫͚͉̯͎̮̙̰͉͆̐͂̎͠ȟ̵͇̬͚̞̲̟̱̩̻̙̭͚̠̣̫̇̄̌̋̈̐͊̄̚͘͝ǒ̸͚̰̮̼͉̟̥̼͖̝͒͝ ̴̩͓̹̠̰̪͚̟̜̏̎̍̐̓͗̔̓͋̉̿͜͠s̶̛̮̫̘͇̹̜̳̥̞̝͌̅̎͋͝͝h̸͎̠͍̐̅̎̽̈́̆̃́̊͠ǒ̶̘̦̆̂͌̽̑̓u̴̡̨͈̩̥̗͔͔̻̭͙̜̤͎̎̇͑̔̽͌̿͜͝l̸̡̢̧̻̫̖̩͕̭͉̳̙̮͙͐̇̑̾͠ͅd̴̫̻̫̲̹̟̘̠ ̵̛͓̙̳͎̬͚̰̰̼̯͉̬͒͂͒̊̀̇̐͐̓̚͝I̵̢̢͔̙̟̝͇̻͆̉͛̇̉̓̔̐̅̂̇̄̚͝ ̶̥͎̃̔̈́͑̆s̵͍̘̙̼̓͒̇͑̀̌̊͝ḩ̶̡̼͈̳̬̱͎̯̔̑̾̈̋͂̓͒͒̉͌̉̚͝ͅo̸̟͈͓̫̫̓̈́̀w̷̛̗͇̗̭̓̽̑ ̸͈̫̦̻̮̺͔͋̔͜m̷̡͍͓̻̱͍̮̫̪͕͕͉̙̪̜̀̓̊͐͊͂y̸̳͇̰͖͇̫̩̅͊̍̋̈́̓̆̅̀͛̽̿̀̕͝ͅ ̸̼͙͎͍̼̈̆̋́̈́̐̍͒̄̚͠͝͝ͅp̸̳̖͔̫̲̙̣͖̦̙̗̂͋̐̓̐ơ̶͙̮͙͚̩̖͚̗̲̱̺̗̦̝͉̅̐͆̒̂̈́̈́̈́͗̕̕͝ể̵͔̗͎̯̙͙͈͇̖̘̬̬͈͠m̴̱̕ ̶̢̫͆̀̑̔͊̐̎͛̒͑͂̏t̴̢̢̝̟͕͈̲̃͛͐͋̎̉͐̂̅͆̑ợ̶̤̰̪̥͚̯̜̤̲̞̳̘͚̈́̑͆̈́̈́̍̐͋̕͘̕̕͠ ̸̡̩̪̩̭̝̪͖̝̗̞̹̲̓̐̾̆̈̋̍̑̑͋͘f̷̳̹͗i̵̲̼̬̝̼̓̾͊͑̏̇̈́ͅŗ̸̛̝͔̭̪̼̪͉̤̮̫̣̤̿̽͂͛̚ͅs̷̖͕̥̳̺̪̦̣͖̹̙̓̒̒̏̄̀̄̆̽͜͠t̵̢̡̧̘͇̞͓͓̤̳̪̯̝͉̔̽̐̆ͅ?̸̡̧̛̮͚͍̈́̉̓͊̀͑̉͆̍͌͝

Ş̶̱͈͓͇̣͓̗̆̐̾̽̊͘͝a̴̧̛̦͚̣̜̻̎̃̂̄͐̓͑́̉̕y̶̗͓̖̌̍̍ô̷̡̜͈̭͇̖͒́͑̂͐͛͆̃ŕ̶̜̭̜̫͕̬͍̥̌̊̐̃͠į̴̣̲̭̦̬̼͖̹̱̣̲͖͔̩̏

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Y̵̭̳̬̞̻̬̝͈̯͔͐̿̃̎̌̄̐̈́̐͂̃͠ͅͅu̸̢̡̡͓̜̝̗̞̣̘̳̻͑͐̎̅͜r̴̨͇̤̠͇̃̀̋͑̈́̾̉̑̉̑̋͊̕͝i̴̺̳̻̍

M̶̧̩̝̹̊o̸̧̟̫̺̱̤̭͈̱͒̀͊̎̌̎̚ͅņ̶͈̙̩̃͑́̀͗̈́̑͝͝i̷̡̨̹̩͇̓̇k̸͙̗̝̹̫͖͇̫͖̬͇̪͈̻̆͆̈́̇͒̌̚̚͘ã̸̡̺̦͖̳͚͓̹̗̺̄̌̏̂͐̑͜͠ͅͅ

Looks like Monika's free.

When I approach her, she smiles at me sweetly. "Hi again, Kaito! How's the writing going?"

I make a so-so gesture. "Alright, I guess..."

Monika giggles. "I'll take that. As long as it's not going bad! I'm happy that you're applying yourself. Maybe soon you'll come up with a masterpiece!"

"Ahaha....I wouldn't count on that."

"You never know! Anyway, want to share the poem you wrote?"

"Sure," I tell Monika, passing over my poem to her. 

When she gets my work, she scans the paper thoughtfully, green eyes focused on every single ink stroke. Standing and watching her read makes me feel...uneasy. Like I'm a student standing in front of a teacher looking over a mediocre essay with a critical eye and a red pen at the ready.

Looking up from the paper, Monika smiles at me. "...Alright! It's pretty good!"

Monika pauses, tapping her chin with her forefinger for a moment in thought. "You know, this one makes me think of Sayori, just like the other one you wrote yesterday. You two are like the dynamic duo!"

I chuckle nervously, scratching the back of my neck. "I guess so. Although...I would say it's a bit of exaggeration, though."

Monika shrugs. "Yeah, probably. But you do spend a lot of time with her even in this club, don't you? Then again, I don't blame you for being a little shy."

"I-I'm not shy, it's just...I'm always awkward around new people. Um..."

"Don't worry, I'm just teasing. I know it takes a bit of time to make friends with everyone. But Yuri and Natsuki are super interesting people, so don't be afraid to give them their share of time! And you can talk to me every now and then, too...I'm not unapproachable or anything, am I?"

I quickly shake my head. "No, it's nothing like that! I just tend to worry about..."

"It's okay, Kaito. And...I'm sorry if I was putting too much pressure on you. I really didn't mean it like that!"

"No, don't worry. I get what you're saying."

"Well, alright. But anyway...you want to read my poem now? I like the way this one turned out, so I hope you do too!"

"Alright, let's take a look..."

_**Save Me** _

_The colors, they won't stop._   
_Bright, beautiful colors_   
_Flashing, expanding, piercing_   
_Red, green, blue_   
_An endless_   
_cacophony_   
_Of meaningless_   
_noise_

_The noise, it won't stop._   
_Violent, grating waveforms_   
_Squeaking, screeching, piercing_   
_Sine, cosine, tangent_   
_Like playing a chalkboard on a turntable_   
_Like playing a vinyl on a pizza crust_   
_An endless_   
_poem_   
_Of meaningless_

_Load Me_

For a just a moment, there's a faint buzzing in my ears, and I feel like something's subtly wrong. Like looking into a room with a piece of furniture slightly out of place, or a song missing a note, or a play without an important character.

Just as quickly, though, the sensation fades, and is easily forgotten. 

"Hm..." I hum thoughtfully. "It's even more abstract than your last one, huh?"

"Ahaha..." Monika giggles. "I guess it's just the way I write...I'm sorry if you don't like it."

"No, I never said that!" I protest. "It's just a kind of thing I've never really seen before, I guess."

"I kind of like playing with my space on the paper...choosing when and how to space your words can totally change the mood of the poem." 

Monika's eyes brighten. "It's almost like magic! The way I wrote the lines really short makes it feel like they're trying to speak over the noise."

"I see...it's still hard for me to tell what it's about, though."

_Or why it makes me feel uneasy to read it..._

"Ahaha." Monika giggles. "Sometimes asking what a poem is about isn't the right question. A poem can be as abstract as a physical expression of a feeling. Or a conversation with the reader. So putting it that way, not every poem is _about_ something."

Monika smiles sweetly at me. "Anyway...here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Sometimes you'll find yourself a difficult decision...when that happens, don't forget to save your game! You never know when you might change your mind...or when something unexpected might happen."

_Huh?_

Monika startles, looking a little confused. "Wait...is this tip even about writing? What am I even talking about?" 

Giggling nervously, Monika finishes with, "...That's my advice for the today! Thanks for listening!"

"Um...okay? I guess I'll talk to someone else now..."

_That was weird._

Ẅ̷̩̘̹̖̦̫͚͉̯͎̮̙̰͉͆̐͂̎͠ȟ̵͇̬͚̞̲̟̱̩̻̙̭͚̠̣̫̇̄̌̋̈̐͊̄̚͘͝ǒ̸͚̰̮̼͉̟̥̼͖̝͒͝ ̴̩͓̹̠̰̪͚̟̜̏̎̍̐̓͗̔̓͋̉̿͜͠s̶̛̮̫̘͇̹̜̳̥̞̝͌̅̎͋͝͝h̸͎̠͍̐̅̎̽̈́̆̃́̊͠ǒ̶̘̦̆̂͌̽̑̓u̴̡̨͈̩̥̗͔͔̻̭͙̜̤͎̎̇͑̔̽͌̿͜͝l̸̡̢̧̻̫̖̩͕̭͉̳̙̮͙͐̇̑̾͠ͅd̴̫̻̫̲̹̟̘̠ ̵̛͓̙̳͎̬͚̰̰̼̯͉̬͒͂͒̊̀̇̐͐̓̚͝I̵̢̢͔̙̟̝͇̻͆̉͛̇̉̓̔̐̅̂̇̄̚͝ ̶̥͎̃̔̈́͑̆s̵͍̘̙̼̓͒̇͑̀̌̊͝ḩ̶̡̼͈̳̬̱͎̯̔̑̾̈̋͂̓͒͒̉͌̉̚͝ͅo̸̟͈͓̫̫̓̈́̀w̷̛̗͇̗̭̓̽̑ ̸͈̫̦̻̮̺͔͋̔͜m̷̡͍͓̻̱͍̮̫̪͕͕͉̙̪̜̀̓̊͐͊͂y̸̳͇̰͖͇̫̩̅͊̍̋̈́̓̆̅̀͛̽̿̀̕͝ͅ ̸̼͙͎͍̼̈̆̋́̈́̐̍͒̄̚͠͝͝ͅp̸̳̖͔̫̲̙̣͖̦̙̗̂͋̐̓̐ơ̶͙̮͙͚̩̖͚̗̲̱̺̗̦̝͉̅̐͆̒̂̈́̈́̈́͗̕̕͝ể̵͔̗͎̯̙͙͈͇̖̘̬̬͈͠m̴̱̕ ̶̢̫͆̀̑̔͊̐̎͛̒͑͂̏t̴̢̢̝̟͕͈̲̃͛͐͋̎̉͐̂̅͆̑ợ̶̤̰̪̥͚̯̜̤̲̞̳̘͚̈́̑͆̈́̈́̍̐͋̕͘̕̕͠ ̸̡̩̪̩̭̝̪͖̝̗̞̹̲̓̐̾̆̈̋̍̑̑͋͘f̷̳̹͗i̵̲̼̬̝̼̓̾͊͑̏̇̈́ͅŗ̸̛̝͔̭̪̼̪͉̤̮̫̣̤̿̽͂͛̚ͅs̷̖͕̥̳̺̪̦̣͖̹̙̓̒̒̏̄̀̄̆̽͜͠t̵̢̡̧̘͇̞͓͓̤̳̪̯̝͉̔̽̐̆ͅ?̸̡̧̛̮͚͍̈́̉̓͊̀͑̉͆̍͌͝

Ş̶̱͈͓͇̣͓̗̆̐̾̽̊͘͝a̴̧̛̦͚̣̜̻̎̃̂̄͐̓͑́̉̕y̶̗͓̖̌̍̍ô̷̡̜͈̭͇̖͒́͑̂͐͛͆̃ŕ̶̜̭̜̫͕̬͍̥̌̊̐̃͠į̴̣̲̭̦̬̼͖̹̱̣̲͖͔̩̏

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

Y̵̭̳̬̞̻̬̝͈̯͔͐̿̃̎̌̄̐̈́̐͂̃͠ͅͅu̸̢̡̡͓̜̝̗̞̣̘̳̻͑͐̎̅͜r̴̨͇̤̠͇̃̀̋͑̈́̾̉̑̉̑̋͊̕͝i̴̺̳̻̍

"Hello, Kaito," Yuri says, smiling a little as she greets me. "Let's see what you've written for today."

As Yuri reads my poem, she hums a little to herself. 

"Mm...well done, Kaito. Your skills are already improving."

"Really? Thanks, Yuri. Coming from you, that means a lot."

Yuri startles. "Eh? I-It's nothing! I'm just happy to inspire fellow writers...I know you're new to this, so don't worry so much if it seems like you can't get your poem to be perfect. You don't need to be afraid to be a little more daring...metaphors can go a long way. Don't feel like you need to work your brain like turning a bunch of gears." 

She smiles at me. "Try letting your mind wander through your feelings...and write down the things you see and hear. That's one way to truly enable your reader to see into your mind. It's a very intimate exercise..."

"You're always good with metaphors, Yuri," I compliment. "Mind if I steal some stuff- I mean, borrow some stuff from your work as inspiration?"

Yuri flushes. "Oh, I don't mind at all."

"Anyway, that's a pretty interesting technique. Thanks, Yuri!"

"I have, um...well, an example of that, if you'd like to read it..."

"Of course! Is this the poem you wrote for today?"

Yuri nods, timidly handing me her poem. 

**_The Raccoon_ **

_It happened in the dead of night while I was slicing bread for a guilty snack._   
_My attention was caught by the scuttering of a raccoon outside my window._   
_That was, I believe, the first time I noticed my strange tendencies as an unusual_   
_human._   
_I gave the raccoon a piece of bread, my subconscious well aware of the consequences._   
_Well aware that a raccoon that is fed will always come back for more._   
_The enticing beauty of my cutting knife was the symptom._   
_The bread, my hungry curiosity._   
_The raccoon, an urge._   
  
_The moon increments its phase and reflects that much more light off of my cutting_   
_knife._   
_The very same light that glistens in the eyes of my raccoon friend._   
_I slice the bread, fresh and soft. The raccoon becomes excited._   
_or perhaps I'm merely projecting my emotions onto the newly-satisfied animal._   
  
_The raccoon has taken to following me._   
_You could say that we've gotten quite used to each other._   
_The raccoon becomes hungry more and more frequently, so my bread is always handy._   
_Every time I brandish my cutting knife the raccoon shows me its excitement._   
_A rush of blood. Classic Pavlovian conditioning. I slice the bread._

_And I feed myself again._

"I was a little bit more daring with this one than yesterday's," Yuri tells me. 

"It's a lot more metaphorical..." I comment, before adding, "I like the way the words, um, flow together."

_I don't know if it's my fault, but I can't begin to imagine what this poem is about._

Yuri smiles, starting to blush a little bit. "It's a bit closer to my preferred writing style...using the poem as a canvas to express vivid imagery, and conveying emotions through them."

"Yeah, if I take it at face-value, then I can't even figure out what it's supposed to mean..."

"Well..." Yuri begins, "I think it's something people can relate to in their own way. I wanted to express the way it feels for me to indulge in my more unusual hobbies...it's those sort of things that I'm usually forced to keep to myself. So, I sometimes enjoy writing about them."

"Why don't you share them?"

Yuri looks down at her hands, twisting her fingers together anxiously. "Be...because...they're embarrassing...and people would make fun of me. Don't you have anything like that, Kaito?"

"I understand what you mean. Sometimes I worry that if I tell people I like something out of the ordinary, they'll think I'm weird...there's this one manga I was really into, but I couldn't tell anyone because it's kind of a girly series. But...I'm starting to get a little braver these days, I think. If you ever want to share what you're interested in, I promise not to make fun of you. Cross my heart."

"I feel like everyone has a little something like that." Yuri says quietly. "The best thing we can do is respect each other and our individualities. Even if it's difficult sometimes, and some things make us uncomfortable...after all, if I hadn't learned to embrace my own weirdness, I would probably hate myself."

Yuri pauses, her face flushing. "I-I might be ranting a little bit now...but I'm glad you're a good listener."

Ẅ̷̩̘̹̖̦̫͚͉̯͎̮̙̰͉͆̐͂̎͠ȟ̵͇̬͚̞̲̟̱̩̻̙̭͚̠̣̫̇̄̌̋̈̐͊̄̚͘͝ǒ̸͚̰̮̼͉̟̥̼͖̝͒͝ ̴̩͓̹̠̰̪͚̟̜̏̎̍̐̓͗̔̓͋̉̿͜͠s̶̛̮̫̘͇̹̜̳̥̞̝͌̅̎͋͝͝h̸͎̠͍̐̅̎̽̈́̆̃́̊͠ǒ̶̘̦̆̂͌̽̑̓u̴̡̨͈̩̥̗͔͔̻̭͙̜̤͎̎̇͑̔̽͌̿͜͝l̸̡̢̧̻̫̖̩͕̭͉̳̙̮͙͐̇̑̾͠ͅd̴̫̻̫̲̹̟̘̠ ̵̛͓̙̳͎̬͚̰̰̼̯͉̬͒͂͒̊̀̇̐͐̓̚͝I̵̢̢͔̙̟̝͇̻͆̉͛̇̉̓̔̐̅̂̇̄̚͝ ̶̥͎̃̔̈́͑̆s̵͍̘̙̼̓͒̇͑̀̌̊͝ḩ̶̡̼͈̳̬̱͎̯̔̑̾̈̋͂̓͒͒̉͌̉̚͝ͅo̸̟͈͓̫̫̓̈́̀w̷̛̗͇̗̭̓̽̑ ̸͈̫̦̻̮̺͔͋̔͜m̷̡͍͓̻̱͍̮̫̪͕͕͉̙̪̜̀̓̊͐͊͂y̸̳͇̰͖͇̫̩̅͊̍̋̈́̓̆̅̀͛̽̿̀̕͝ͅ ̸̼͙͎͍̼̈̆̋́̈́̐̍͒̄̚͠͝͝ͅp̸̳̖͔̫̲̙̣͖̦̙̗̂͋̐̓̐ơ̶͙̮͙͚̩̖͚̗̲̱̺̗̦̝͉̅̐͆̒̂̈́̈́̈́͗̕̕͝ể̵͔̗͎̯̙͙͈͇̖̘̬̬͈͠m̴̱̕ ̶̢̫͆̀̑̔͊̐̎͛̒͑͂̏t̴̢̢̝̟͕͈̲̃͛͐͋̎̉͐̂̅͆̑ợ̶̤̰̪̥͚̯̜̤̲̞̳̘͚̈́̑͆̈́̈́̍̐͋̕͘̕̕͠ ̸̡̩̪̩̭̝̪͖̝̗̞̹̲̓̐̾̆̈̋̍̑̑͋͘f̷̳̹͗i̵̲̼̬̝̼̓̾͊͑̏̇̈́ͅŗ̸̛̝͔̭̪̼̪͉̤̮̫̣̤̿̽͂͛̚ͅs̷̖͕̥̳̺̪̦̣͖̹̙̓̒̒̏̄̀̄̆̽͜͠t̵̢̡̧̘͇̞͓͓̤̳̪̯̝͉̔̽̐̆ͅ?̸̡̧̛̮͚͍̈́̉̓͊̀͑̉͆̍͌͝

Ş̶̱͈͓͇̣͓̗̆̐̾̽̊͘͝a̴̧̛̦͚̣̜̻̎̃̂̄͐̓͑́̉̕y̶̗͓̖̌̍̍ô̷̡̜͈̭͇̖͒́͑̂͐͛͆̃ŕ̶̜̭̜̫͕̬͍̥̌̊̐̃͠į̴̣̲̭̦̬̼͖̹̱̣̲͖͔̩̏

Ņ̸̧̺̭͍͈͓̜̣̝̠͈̓̒͛͐͜͝a̷̧͚̣̺̐ͅţ̵̢̡̛̩̟͇̻̪̜͗͑̓͊̄̆̍̐̕͜s̶͈͎̣̰͐̂̿̅̈́̔͆̍͆͝u̵̡̢̘̣̫͉͉̜̙̹̱̬͕̦̟͒̉̓k̸̢̨̢̻̰̙̺̹̙͇̥̱͓̣͂͗i̷̢̬̝̞̎̀̾͂͆͠

"I really love your poems, Kaito," Sayori says with a smile. "I can't believe you've been hiding these from me!"

"Eh? I'm not hiding anything from you! Except for your birthday present- I mean, um...never mind."

Sayori giggles. "But...your poems are sooooo good...yesterday's, and this one too! You can't tell me you haven't done this before!"

"I mean...you're really the only person who feels that way, so..."

Sayori gasps. "Eh?! No way!! Not even Natsuki...?"

"Well, I guess Natsuki is the least likely to admit she likes something...but I don't think it's that."

"What do you mean?"

"Please don't think is creepy or weird, but I...find it a lot easier to write poems when I'm thinking about you."

"E-Eh?!" Sayori gasps, eyes wide. "Wawawa-!"

"...I made it weird, didn't I? I just...what I mean to say is that you're a very expressive person. How am I supposed to write poems about my own stupid life? But you somehow make everything in your life an adventure. Even the little things."

"Like cooking!!"

I wince. "Let's not talk about that!"

"Ehehe..."

"So, yeah...I guess what I'm saying is that I can feel more feelings through you than I can myself. We have this weird connection...and I totally blame you for that by the way." 

Sayori looks a little confused. "Eh? I don't know if I understand..."

I sigh. "You never understand when I try to explain things to you, do you, Sayori?"

I pat Sayori on the head.

Giggling, she ducks away from my hand. "Ahaha! Heyyy! I'm not a kid, you know!"

"Are you sure about that?" I tease.

"Mmm, maybe."

Sayori starts fiddling with her pencil between her hands. "Hey, Kaito? Will you give me your poem? I kinda want to keep it."

"Huh? Why?"

Sayori flushes. "Because...well...it's the first time you've ever written something for me..."

I roll my eyes. "Sayori, you doofus. I've been writing my poems for you all along. You're only realizing this now?"

**_Snap!_ **

The pencil breaks into two pieces.

"A-Ah!" Sayori yelps. "I broke my pencil..."

Sayori hastily bends down to pick up the pieces she dropped. But, being inattentive of her surroundings, she bumps right into me. 

"Oof."

"S-S-Sorry-!!"

"It's fine, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Here, I'll get it for you."

Bending down, I pick up the broken pencil. 

Sayori clutches the desk beside her to support herself, knees shaking. "I-I'm a little clumsy today," she stutters. "Ahahaha..."

"Let's sit down, Sayori. You've already had enough brain trauma for today."

"Y-Yeah..."

I gently grab Sayori's arm and help her sit down at the desk. 

"Standing's overrated," I joke. "Anyway, I still haven't read your poem..."

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot about that! But it's not as good as yours..."

"Jeez, don't worry! I'm sure I'll like it."

_**Bottles.** _

_I pop off my scalp like the lid of a cookie jar._

_It's the secret place where I keep all my dreams._   
_Little balls of sunshine, all rubbing together like a bundle of kittens._

_I reach inside with my thumb and forefinger and pluck one out._   
_It's warm and tingly._   
_But there's no time to waste! I put it in a bottle to keep it safe._   
_And I put the bottle on the shelf with all of the other bottles._   
_Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts in bottles, all in a row._

_My collection makes me lots of friends._   
_Each bottle a starlight to make amends._   
_Sometimes my friend feels a certain way._   
_Down comes a bottle to save the day._

_Night after night, more dreams._   
_Friend after friend, more bottles._   
_Deeper and deeper my fingers go._   
_Like exploring a dark cave, discovering the secrets hiding in the nooks and crannies._   
_Digging and digging._   
_Scraping and scraping._

_I blow dust off my bottle caps._   
_It doesn't feel like time elapsed._   
_My empty shelf could use some more._   
_My friends look through my locked front door._

_Finally, all done. I open up, and in come my friends._   
_In they come, in such a hurry. Do they want my bottles that much?_   
_I frantically pull them from the shelf, one after the other._   
_Holding them out to each and every friend._   
_Each and every bottle._   
_But every time I let one go, it shatters against the tile between my feet._   
_Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts in shards, all over the floor._

_They were supposed to be for my friends, my friends who aren't smiling._   
_They're all shouting, pleading. Something._   
_But all I hear is echo, echo, echo, echo, echo_   
_Inside my head._

"...Sayori, did you really write this?"

"Of course I did! Didn't I tell you yesterday that I was going to write the best poem ever?"

I shrug, looking back down at the poem. "Yeah, but...I didn't expect something like this, coming from you."

"Monika taught me a whole lot!" Sayori says earnestly. "And I've been really in touch with my feelings recently..."

I scan the poem for a third time. "I see that. Um...Sayori?"

"Yeah?"

"Never mind. It's just that it's...almost kind of creepy."

"Creepy...?"

"Well, not exactly. Maybe it's because I'm so used to you being cheerful...well, never mind. I'm thinking too hard about it. The point is, it came out good, so you should be proud of it."

"Aw, thanks! I feel like...I feel like I was express myself this way. It even helps me understand my thoughts a little bit better...writing is like magic!"

"You've gotten pretty passionate about this, huh? I hope you can keep it up."

"Yeah! Writing's the best! I'm going to keep writing until I die!"

"Ahaha...don't get ahead of yourself."

Sayori's always had a habit of getting obsessed with something before dropping it no more than a week later. 

I wonder if this is one of those times?

Seeing the passion in her face, though...it makes it hard for me to feel pessimistic.

***Save**


	7. Strawberry Shortcake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's day three of the Literature Club.  
> Manga is shared, and Monika moves things without asking first.  
> Also, apparently Kaito is a pervert now.

***Load**

After the excitement from the cookie incident dies down, everyone begins to settle into their own routines once more. Not surprisingly, Sayori has already finished her treat, and is now chatting with Monika in the corner. Yuri, meanwhile, has her nose firmly buried in a book. 

Natsuki looks at me expectantly.

"You brought back the book, right?" Natuski asks, eyeing my school bag with a critical expression. 

I nod, reaching into my bag to retrieve the manga Natsuki had lent me yesterday. 

"It was great reading it over again. Thanks for letting me borrow it!"

Natsuki grins as she accepts the book back. "That's the kind of generous person I am! I'll let you keep borrowing my books...as long as you keep them safe!"

We make our way to the closet. As Natsuki opens the door, she asks, "Where did this volume end again? I forgot."

"Ah, the chapter ended when Minori and Sakura found-"

"Monika!!" Natsuki shrieks, voice resonating out from inside the closet. I quickly look inside, and immediately see what Natsuki's so upset about- all of her books are now lined up on the top shelf, completely out of anyone's reach. "Did you move my manga?!"

"Sorry, Natsuki!" Monika calls from outside the closet. "The teacher got mad at me for taking so much space in her closet...so I had to move some stuff around and clean up a little. It's still there, I just had to organize it a bit!"

Natsuki's hands clench into tight fists.

"Jeez...! This is so inconvenient!" Natsuki grumbles. "I'm putting these all back down. There's plenty of room on these shelves. And besides," she huffs, "they're really pretty to look at when they're all lined up! Why would you waste that on the top shelf?"

Something tells me that this is a rhetorical question, so I keep my mouth shut.

Glancing around the closet, I notice that, hanging on the wall is a collapsible stool.

"Hey, Natsuki, there's a stool on the wall over there. If I stand on it, I'll probably be tall enough to-"

"I'm doing it!" Natsuki interrupts, grabbing the stool off the wall. Unfolding it, she complains, "You think I'm too short or something?"

"Wait, what-"

"I _knew_ it! Well, you know what? Just watch me!"

With those words, Natsuki hops up onto the stool, which ends up to be a little wobbly because of its collapsible design.

"Aaah..." Natsuki mutters under her breath as she steadies herself. I nervously eye the stool, which looks like it might collapse at any moment. 

"Natsuki, please be careful...you're m-making me nervous."

"I know what I'm doing!" 

Even with the stool, Natsuki is only tall enough for her fingertips to touch the top shelf. I probably could reach the books if Natsuki let me stand on the stool...but I doubt she'll listen. 

"Hmm..." Natsuki mutters, using her fingers to scoot one of the smaller boxes to the edge of the shelf. "See?" Natsuki begins, "I told you I could-"

The box suddenly tips. "Kyah-!" Natsuki shouts, barely managing to catch it. As she does, the stool wobbles violently under her feet. "Wawaa-"

Losing balance, Natsuki hops off the stool. To my utter relief, she lands on her feet. 

"Whew," I breathe. 

Natsuki holds up the box triumphantly. "There!"

Despite her bravado, she sounds shaken up. 

"Natsuki...please let me do the next one," I beg. "You almost gave me a heart attack! Look, there's no need to prove yourself-"

"I said I can do it!" Natsuki snaps. "I don't want your help, okay? I just need to get a chair." 

Natsuki forces her way past me and out of the closet; I fold the stool back up and put it on the wall. The chairs in the classroom are all attached to desks, so they're pretty inconvenient to move. Maybe I should go help her?

I poke my head out of the closet. 

...She's by the teacher's desk, pushing out a computer chair.

Rolling it back into the closet, she smirks at me. "Got it!"

I literally can't think of anything to say at this point- this chair _swivels_ and _rolls_ , and yet Natsuki thinks she can safely stand on that thing?!

Natsuki climbs onto the chair, then slowly balances on her feet.

All I can do is watch in horror. 

_Oh god, she's going to break her neck right in front of me and it'll be all my fault because I'm a terrible friend and-_

"Aha!" Natsuki crows, "There we go! See? I can easily do it now."

"N-Natsuki..."

"I can do this!" Natsuki snaps, grabbing the box of manga. 

To my horror, the chair swivels, and Natsuki barely manages to catch herself on the shelf.

"W-Wahh-What are you doing? Can you at least hold the chair steady instead of standing there and doing nothing?"

I snap out of my daze, quickly grabbing the chair by the base as tightly as I can. 

_Oh god, if she dies now it'll be all my fault!_

Natsuki wraps her arms around the Parfait Girls box set, easily one of the largest one on the shelf.

"Hup-" Natsuki grunts underneath the weight. "Hey, Kaito...I don't think I can bend down without falling...! Hurry and take this one..."

"But then I have to let go of the chair," I protest. "Natsuki, just drop the box."

"No way! Just let go for a second! Hurry up...!"

"Alright...let me just stand up!"

I slowly release my tight grip from the chair.

"What do you mean, 'stand up'?" Natsuki says, clearly puzzled. She looks down at me. "Why are you all the way back-"

Suddenly, a strange expression crosses Natsuki's face, kind of like she just noticed something.

"What are you looking at?!"Natsuki shrieks, her face turning bright red. "You're trying to look at my...m-my.."

"Natsuki! The box!"

Her legs shake.

"Natsuki! I am literally trying to keep you alive!"

But she doesn't seem to be listening to me at all. "Y-you perv! You set me up!! Go away! Get out!"

_WHERE IS EVERYONE? MONIKA? YURI? SAYORI??? HOW CAN THEY NOT HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON?!_

"I'll do it myself!"

Then-

_the chair suddenly flies from underneath her feet._

" _Kyyyyaaaa!_ "

In a split second, everything turns to chaos.

Frantically, I try and catch her.

_**CRASH!** _

Everything hurts, especially my right arm and back. I haven't broken anything (I know firsthand what it feels like to break a bone) but I know I'm going to be covered in bruises and bumps.

_Good thing I didn't hit my head too hard..._

Natsuki's lying on top of me, her face against my chest. She groans, pressing her arms against my chest to prop herself up. 

"Eh?" Natsuki gasps, a strange expression crossing her face. "G-Guuuu!!! Gross! Gross!" Natsuki quickly splutters, 

Her fist pounds into my chest. "Gack!" I croak.

Natsuki then hoists herself to her feet. "What were you thinking?! You sicko!"

Before I can say or do anything, I hear Monika call out, "Everything going okay over there...? I heard a loud noise..."

Although I'm still lying on the ground, I can see Monika poke her head in. She looks concerned, but also faintly amused.

I push myself off the ground until I'm standing like a normal person.

Natsuki's scowl grows ever deeper. "See what happens when you put manga on the top shelf?! Are you trying to kill your club members of something? Jeez!"

Monika flushes, looking away for a moment in embarrassment. "S-sorry, sorry!" she apologizes, letting out a nervous giggle. "Ahaha..."

Natsuki huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh, and one more thing," Natsuki snarks, "it seems like your most recent club member is a total pervert. So I hope you're happy."

I feel like my face is on fire. "I-I didn't!"

I want to explain everything, but the words seem stuck in my throat. How would I even be able to describe what just happened, anyway? All I can splutter out is, "I didn't do anything, I swear...!"

_Oh god that sounds super shady_

To my relief, Monika doesn't look like she believes Natsuki's accusations. My theory is confirmed when she whispers into my ear, "I know, I know, don't worry." And with those parting words, the class president leaves.

Looks like I'm off the hook, at least with Monika...

Suddenly, I hear Natsuki whimper, "Oh no...! My...my..." 

I look down and see that Natsuki's kneeling on the floor, holding one of the books that are scattered all over. There's a large diagonal crease along the page that she's desperately trying to smooth out.

"Ah, it must have landed on the page..."

Natsuki tries a bit more to fix the crease, but she can't get it out. Suddenly, she gives up and slams the book shut, then throws it to the floor. Instead of continuing to shout, she lowers her head. 

_*Sob*_

"...Natsuki, are you-"

Natsuki's voice squeaks when she lets out a muffled shout. "No!"

...I can see tears on her face.

"Don't worry, the crease can be fixed. My grandma used to preserve books, and I think she used pressure to-"

Natsuki shakes her head, still looking down. "No...I don't even care that much. I'm just...having a really bad day today." She lets out a deep sob, whispering, "I didn't mean to take it out on you...I really didn't mean to!"

"It's...it's fine. Is there anything you want to talk about?" I gently probe, quickly adding, "You don't have to share anything if you don't want to."

Natsuki shakes her head. "Just...every day...is...so hard. I just want to...come to the club and..." Once again, she falls silent. I don't want to press her for details, but I can't just stand here like an idiot, either. 

"Wait, I almost forgot! I brought something that I thought would go well here."

I rush out of the closet, making a beeline for my book bag. When I return, Natsuki's now looking up, and I can see tear tracks on her face. "I was cleaning out my closet, and I found...this!"

Getting down on the ground, I hand Natsuki the manga.

She looks unimpressed, and I don't blame her for judging me. After all, for all intents and purposes, this seems like just another copy of issue #42 from _Parfait Girls_. 

Natsuki opens the book, and gasps.

Usually, the back of the cover is blank. This version, however, is covered in signatures. 

"Are these for real?!"

"I had the book checked, it's legit."

All of the signatures belong to a people who, at some point, worked on the manga. 

"Where did you find these?!" Natsuki demands, eyes shining.

I chuckle. "Secondhand bookstore. They were selling it for less than a dollar. Can you even believe it?"

Natsuki rolls her eyes. "Some people are just so stupid."

She sounds a bit better than she did a few minutes ago. 

"I hid it in my closet so my dad wouldn't find it," I tell Natsuki. "But I guess I was too good at hiding it, because I only just found it. Anyway, I thought it might fit in here with the others..."

Natsuki flips through the pages with a small smile. "Yeah, I think there's some enough space in here. And if there isn't, I'll _make_ some space!"

"Here, I'll help you clean up all the manga," I offer. "Then...we could read the next issue together? I bet that'll cheer you up even more."

Natsuki's lip quivers. "You're...you're really nice to me..."

"Eh?"

_I didn't expect to hear that from Natsuki..._

"Don't worry about it. I'm just treating you like a friend, you know? Not that my opinion matters much, but I think you're pretty cool."

Natsuki lowers her head and stifles another sob. 

The next couple of minutes are quiet as I begin gathering the scattered books, making sure to slip them into their box in the correct order. 

After a little bit, Natsuki starts helping.

It isn't long before we're done, and I hoist the box onto the shelf where Natsuki wanted to put it. After that, I get on the stool and quickly finish moving the rest of her books from the top shelf.

"Alright, that should do it!" I comment, getting down from the stool. 

Natsuki adverts her gaze. "T-thanks," she mumbles. 

"No problem. Anyway, I'm ready to read!"

Natsuki smirks. "Good. Even if you weren't, I'd make you anyway. You're taking responsibility for what you said, by the way. You know...the thing about cheering me up."

I wink at Natsuki. "If you insist!"

She giggles a little, and I can feel my chest slowly filling up with warmth. 

***Save**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: my god all the errors


	8. interlude #2: please remember something that never happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Déjà Vu" is a common intuitive experience that has happened to many of us. The expression is derived from the French, meaning "already seen." When it occurs, it seems to spark our memory of a place we have already been, a person we have already seen, or an act we have already done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Déjà Vu" is a common intuitive experience that has happened to many of us. The expression is derived from the French, meaning "already seen." When it occurs, it seems to spark our memory of a place we have already been, a person we have already seen, or an act we have already done.

***Load**

I dully stare down at the blank sheet of paper in front of me, trying to gather my thoughts together to write something halfway decent. You would think that the second poem would be easier than the first, but apparently that's not the case. 

I think Monika had given me advice on how to stop writer's block, but I can't quite remember what she'd said...

***Load**

_"Hmm...it's very freeform...if that's what you call it. Sorry, I'm not the best person to talk about for feedback."_

_"Aha...it's okay. Yeah, that style has gotten pretty popular nowadays. That is, a lot of poems have been putting emphasis on the timing between words and lines. When performed out loud, it can be really powerful."_

_"What was the inspiration behind this one?"_

_"Ah...well, I'm not sure if I know how to put it. I guess you could say that I had some kind of epiphany lately. It's been influencing my poems a bit."_

_"An epiphany?"_

_"Yeah... something like that. I'm kind of nervous to talk about deep stuff like that, because it's kind of coming on strongly...maybe after everyone is better friends with each other. Anyway...here's **Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Sometimes when you're writing a poem-or story-your brain gets too fixated on a specific point...if you try so hard to make it perfect, then you'll never make any progress. Just force to get something down on the paper, and tidy it up later!**_

_**Another way to think about it is this: If you keep your pen in the same spot for too long, you'll just get a big dark puddle of ink. So just move your hand and go with the flow**!"_

_"...Thanks?"_

_"...That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening!"_

***Load**

I dully stare down at the blank sheet of paper in front of me, trying to gather my thoughts together to write something halfway decent. You would think that the second poem would be easier than the first, but apparently that's not the case. 

...I think I remember Monika talking about 'going with the flow' when it comes to writing, so I might as well start now and see where that ends up taking me. 

***Load**

Į̴̥͕͔͍̤̲͈͍̯̝̦̒̐͆̒̈́t̸͍̗̮̒̈́́̎̔̄̽́͘͘͠'̵͈̩̗͇͔͕̻̈͒̓͋̅͛͒̓͐͠ͅs̷̢̘̤̜͒͋͆̊̓̃̇̂̿̃͝ ̷̗̤̬̌̈͛̽̑͛͑̚͘t̶̛̥̩̲̏̋̿͜i̷̠̩̳̔̀͐̓̍͑̎͒̅̏̕͠͝͝͝m̸̨̨̛̦͗͂̎̎̾͐̋̚͘̕ȇ̴̟̙̣̱̤̞͖͉̭̰̪͕̘͆̂̊̌͑͜͝͠ ̴̧̧̤̯͉͈̯̰̫̟͇̺̳͊̓̃͒̓͛̀̂̚͜͜t̸̰͖̟͎̰̽͐̋̇ö̸̧̡̻̪͇̠͙̗̣̋̇̑̈́͛͊̍́͐ ̵̛̻͕͙̆̐͜w̷̧͈͚̠͚̥͉̠̳̻̉͋̀̎̂̏͐̐͝͠r̵̤̟̙͓̳̝̗̣͈̿̽̔̈̇̈́̾̈ȋ̵̧͎̹͇̜͕͚̹͈̎̓̐̔̑̀͐́̆͘̕͝t̵̨̘̗̦̯͚̭͈̯̣̳̦̔̔̊̍͋͘ͅe̸̢͙̊̋͌ ̶̗̠̤̦̰̪̌̾͂̅̚͜͠͝å̷͓̖̮̯̤̪͇̹̞͎͇̟̼͎̐͝ ̷̱̥͇̩̬̥̌̈́͂̋͋̿̒̒̊͂͂͝͝p̷̨̹͍͗̕ọ̵̪͓̬͎̠̞̭̹͉̭̟̪͙̌̐̉̈͛̓̄̐͝͝ͅe̵̡̛͉͇̬̥̣̋̔̐̆̓ṃ̸̝̟͙̫̩̝͓̽̏̅͌̑͆̚!̶̢̟̺̜͉̎

P̶̡̢͔͓̯̘̠̟̪̩̹̠̫̺̊̏͂̓̾͝ͅi̷̧̛̗̩̘̼̼͉͇͛̔̓̎̂̈́̔̒̉̽͛̕͘͠c̸̨̨͇̯̲͕͍̯̭̝͚̰̥͑͛͐͒k̴̺͈̬̭̠̰͙͕̼̭͕̗̅̆̔̏̐̾͒͛̚͘͝ ̵̨̡̬̥̻̠͈̇̽́̊̄ẇ̶̜̤̮͖̭̙̺̜̼̳͕̤̘̙͐̌̏͐̑͋̔̾ö̴̰̑̍̇̈̍̽͌̾͜r̴̨̧̟̲̗̺̫̳͓̞̩̟̦̯̈́̉̂̓͌̈́̅̿̉̊͐͝d̷̡̢̧̯̫̟̈͜ṣ̵̡̡͖̣̮̭̮̭͕̪͇̜̤͒͌̅͂̕͝ ̶̗̗̹͙̮̰̱͗͌͝ŷ̷̧̧̱̼̮̣͎̭̲̪̬̺̹͎̺̾͊͊̃͋̌̑̓̕͠͠ơ̶̯̓̈́̈́̓̾́̇͆̿ů̸͎̭͓̺̅͜ ̸̼̰̤̬̹̟̝̩͍͔̯̈́͛̃̃̚t̶̡̨̧͖̫̺͍̤̲̞͔̙̯̀͛͗̒̉̓̓̋̚͜͝h̸͓̤̘̭̪̖̹̣̻̉̓̇͐̇͝i̴͔̹̗͍͕̦̘̩̲̜̭̻̓n̶͖͓̱̫̱̙̖͐͒̓̕͜͜͝k̶͙̣͑̚ ̶̢̪̺̩͉̩͑̆̾̅͠ÿ̵̭̙͇̟̠̮̥́̽́̉̈́̾͊̂̓̚͠ȏ̵̩̥̎̽̎̇̅̈̕ų̶̐̅̽̈́͒̂̐̎́͝r̵̫͍̯̤̱̟̟̤̖̠̤̺͆̂̅̉͆̈́̅͊̂̏̈͜ ̷̨̛̠̻̬͓̙̹̦̤̜̹͍̯̗̳͐̍̑͂̓̆̑̈́̒̍̈́̒͘͠f̵̛̩̞̭̯͇̳̞̻̼͙̟̰̫͔͂̉̃͐̎͋̚͝a̷̡̢̟̳̺̤̥͈̘̦̫̮̹͂̾̿̏̅͑̊͛̅̋̄̊̏̕v̸̛͔͙̫̤̬̪̤̭̯̙̜̮̉͂͜͝ǒ̷̖̰̭̝̝͖̳̤͉̬ȓ̵͓̾̽̈́ǐ̷̧̧̞̫͎̮̜͓̲̜͕͆̀̎͊̀̈̇͑̌͒͑͜t̵̯̳͍͎͌́̈́́͛̈̿̇̓̃̌̿̍̕ẹ̵͎̼̞̲̦̹̯̝͉͖̩̖̑̇͂͆̔̿̏̇̂̕͜ ̶̠͍̠̫͈̝̹͙̰̘̘͎̉̇̔c̸̨̨͖̳̼̻͎̣̖̮̜̬͊̃͐́̈̅́͝͝͠l̶̛̤͖̠̫͙͔͍͇̈́̓̓͌̓͊̒ͅu̴̢̗̺̱̭̝͇̙͍̘̞̎͜b̵̻͈̜̝̏͊̈́́̈́̊̆̉͝ ̶̢͎͚̣̥̖̙͇̺̼̓͜m̷̪̈̒ę̶̛̛͔̜͕̰̳̪̬͎̞̬̱̺͎̓̾͂̈́̋̔̅̈́̍̾̉̒͝m̴̛̥̥̘͇͚̦̼̿̆͊͒̑̎͑̎͊̃͐̕b̶͓͌̿̾̏͛ȅ̴̥̬̥̥̫̪̠̟͕͇̝̳̓̂̈́̆̂̕͜͜r̴̨̡̝̱̤͙͓͙̥̟̺̟̼̗̉̐͘̚ ̴̧̢̨̛̘͈͈̰̹̟̗͒͗̒̈́͐͆̂̉̊͗ŵ̵̧̢̢̡̛̳͇̘͉̣̳̟̬͙̯̒͒̑̑͒͗̑̓͊i̴̧̨̳̳̺͙̲̯̖͚̟͑͑͋̾̓͛̈͋͝l̵̡̺͂̽̈͒͐̍̌̆͋̂̕͝l̷̨̀͂̌̈͂̀̇̒͘͠ͅ ̶̨̢̱̥̫̰͔͇̘̋͜ḽ̶̩͕͚͒͒͊̓͠i̴̢̛̦̝͉̲̲̟̖̺̙̳̲͍̇̅̔̔̽̀͋̑̈͑͘̚ķ̶̛̦͍̠̤̘͔͓͉̑̒͗͑̉̄͑̀̇̕ę̸͙̥̼͈̺͖̦̫̮̞̯͋̏̓̍̌.̸̝̟̞̲̠̈́̈̒͋͑͐͗̅̈́́͊̑͌̕͘

̷̟͖̲͈̪͚̣̻̓͌̅̑̄̿̽̋́̄̄͘͝͝S̸̰̬̲̔̃̚o̸̢̮̳̣̲̬̒̎̐̊͒̈̀̚̚m̵̠̠̱̆̿̈́̈̆͗̚͝ę̶͍̤̤̭͖̥̺̳͎͚̔̾̆̂̃̓ͅt̷͓̞̝͍̤͓̜͔̖͒̀͌̐̆̿̈́̍̚͠͠͝h̴̟̞̰̥̭̺̗́̍̊̋̒̎͌̔̆̈́̚͝į̵̭͈͕̱̥̫͍̮͂̍ͅn̷̤̥̯̖̪͇̝͙̙͖͖̆̅̃͒̀̇̇̒̐̈́̕͜ͅg̷̥͑͆͌̐̽͝͝ ̴͇̂̾̄͊̆̏̉͑̚g̸̩̘̞̭̘̳͕̯̳̈́͛̈́͌̍͆̆́̌̎͐̕̚͜͝ȍ̷̝̱͙̙͋̚ọ̴̡̧̨̞̝͈̦̥͙̭̰̼̗̀̃̈́̉͆͊͌́̂͝d̶̬͖̼̱̱̻͕͌̎̎̏̎͒̿͒ ̷̡̮̗̜̏̌̾̔̿̎̊̆̾̊̂̅m̴̛̪̈į̷̺̗̲̜̞͌ģ̵̘͕̫̼͔͔̻̲͗͑̒̂́̽̓̋̋͌͌̈́̎͘ͅh̶̥̩̫̥̦̝̰͓̙̑͆̀̓͗͜͠ţ̵̦̬̖̗̹̲̺̭͇̔̽̾̿̽̓̑́͗͝ ̴̳͈̻̝̼̼̩͓̯͚̆͋͛̾̒͆̉̇̕ͅh̵̡͖̙͉̼͕͕͔͇̜̀̌̃̐̈̔̒̚ă̷̡̢̠̜̖̜̰̤͚͈͙͂̐͑͜͝p̵̡̝̩̙̘̤̤̝̃͂͗̓̂̅̀p̸̭̭͍͇̺̼̦̳͔̪̻͔̋̐̃͗̂̑̚̕͝ȩ̸̰͆̈́̀͗̒͐̀̿͑͊͐̑͌͝n̵̛̩͔̰͗̉̃̊́̒́͌̏̅͠ ̸̫͈͖̝̼̑͛̕͜ͅẁ̶̫̙̃̔͝i̴͙̖̺͚̪̺͓̪̭̠̠̹͆̈̉̈́̑̂͛̽ͅt̸͔͊̈́̅͂̓͝h̴̞͖̮̠̤̖͇̆̄̒̓̈́͊͛̄͊̄̋͂̈͜͝͝ ̶̨̬͍̙̲̜͙̝̲̝͈͙̭̀͒̋͛͋̐̍̊͆͘͠ẅ̵̢̨̖̯̠͎͎̖͚͉͉̠̝̤̞̍͒̀͗͑͐̈̓̈̉̾͠h̵̢̛̛̦̙̼̅͋̽̉̂̏̂̔̆͌̈́͌͜ö̸̢̥̲͕̩͖͕́̓̈́͒͂͂e̷̢̗̗̟͍͇͊̔̑͑̏̍̂̌̎̽v̶̠̫̯̦̙̙̯͐̔̈́͌͑͜e̵̢̟͉̳̰̮͓̭̳͓͙̜͖͉̐̆̇̚r̴̡̧̞̜͉̖͕̫̱̺̗̼͈̐̿̌̐ͅ ̴̨̛͈̹̗̻͔̺̦͓̹̿̎̃̒̀̍̿͆͗̋͝l̵̡͇̭͖̗̠̣̗̖̫͖̬̪̱̓̔̒̉̈́͗ḯ̸̗͕̫̌̄͝k̷̨͎͙̟̤̖͍̬̂̇͊͊̓̾̅̊̏̿͘͘͘ͅę̶̢̡͖̻̝̮̝̥̻̫͈̠̺̇̈́̊̈̊̐͑͗͐̊s̵̰̤̮̓̓͋̂̓͊̄̽̍͐̉͝͝ ̸̧͖ỵ̵̡̛̬͇̲̎̐̎͠ō̷̧̢͉͎̥̟̎͂͊̎̂̽̐̈́̓̇ǔ̶͙̺̹̯͐̔͗̃̂̎̅̿͒̒̎͘̕͝r̴̡̢̧̻̼̱̯̠̠͎̹͉͍̖̤̋̂̌͗ ̴̲̤̓̆͋̎̍͂̏̚͘͝p̴̡̮̪̝̙̀̉̓̀̈́̈́̾̃͒͊̃̚̕o̷̫͉̤̰͐̀̀͋̔́̅͗͆̇̏͝e̵̦͙̱͐̆͐͑͘m̴̪̗͎̗̫͚̲͑̂̀̆̽̿̔͆̈́̕͜͠ ̴̨̧̡̥̣͔̭͖͈̲̤̀͌͛̇͐́̌̚͜t̴̢̼͓̞̪͔̺͇̦̾͌͐̈́h̵͕͚̭́ė̵̢̛̖͔͇͚̠̗̻̤̪̗̖̻̙͛̌͋̎̆͆̀͂͋ ̸̢̜̤͇̿̑ͅm̷͈̦̖͈̤͓̹͛͒͐̽̋̎͂̌͝ơ̵̢̛̳͇̜͓͖͖̣̰͎̖̤͇̗̿̿̅̊̆́̂̌̆̚ͅș̸̢̧̱͓̤̖̙̻͎̩̗̎͐́͒̔̏̓͌͘̕ẗ̸̫́̾̌̒͆̽̋̓̈̃͆͘͝!̶̛͖͖͖̹̘̦̮̮̟̼̜͑̀̈́̔̊͜͠ͅ ̶̛̗͐̈́̐͂̇̉͊̈́͂

***Load**

I dully stare down at the blank sheet of paper in front of me, trying to gather my thoughts together to write something halfway decent. You would think that the second poem would be easier than the first, but apparently that's not the case. 

I think Monika had given me advice on how to stop writer's block, but I can't remember what she'd said.

Maybe I should try mimicking one of the other club member's writing style? After hanging out with-

Wait, who did I hang out with?

Was it Natsuki? I remember talking about _Parfait Girls_ with her...

Was it Yuri? I remember reading with her...

Was it Sayori? I remember having a whole conversation about her always being late to school...

I couldn't have done all of these things, right?

Right???

***Load**

Oh, I got a notification- Sayori probably wants to chat online. I really need to focus on writing this poem, but maybe I can ask her for a few tips. 

Let's see...wait, this isn't Sayori.

**Player: i don't have much time**

**Player: you need to listen to me**

**Player: Kaito?**

**KitKat: do i know you?????**

**Player: YES!**

**KitKat: who r you again?**

**Player: you spoke to me um**

**Player: at some point**

**Player: honestly this whole time thing is messing me up and a lot of stuff is getting corrupted**

**KitKat: u do seem vaguely familiar**

**Player: can you help me?** ****

**KitKat: sure, i guess.**

**Player: i need to give you the knowledge**

**Player: and the power**

**KitKat: uh...ok?**

**Player: jus give me a second and i will transfer**

**< ERROR>**

**< ERROR>**

**< ERROR>**

**< ERROR>**

**< ERROR>**

**< ERROR>**

**< ERROR>**

**< ERROR>**

***̶̢̧̛̘̟̼̰̖̥̺͔͔̘̜̎̇̀͆̈́̇͐̉̏͘S̸̛̟̭͆̈̾͆͑̋a̶̝͉̹̖͎͚̔̃̌v̴̧̧͖̰̫̝̯̗͈̰͂̐́͆̓̏̓̽̇̌͘͠͠ͅe̸̮̟̤̹͔͂͊͝**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Déjà Vu" is a common intuitive experience that has happened to many of us. The expression is derived from the French, meaning "already seen." When it occurs, it seems to spark our memory of a place we have already been, a person we have already seen, or an act we have already done.


End file.
